Abate3
by Hunter Predator
Summary: The Master Chief has gone MIA, the Abaters and Brutes are on the brink of civil war, and a new threat exposes itself from beneath our feet. Old enemies will return, as new ones cause tensions among all species, and still the Committee is plotting.
1. Scarred

**Abate3**

**Chapter 1**

_Year: 2015_

_"Mommy? Daddy?" A little girl whimpered sheepishly out as she slowly opened her door out onto the hallway. Flashes appeared from the windows like lightning; however thunder didn't follow them, only the sounds of explosions and cries of pain and agony. Hanna, only five years old, held tightly only the stuffed tiger of hers as she inched toward her parent's room, just down the hall. It was late at night; she had been asleep for hours before she heard the front door burst open and someone march up the stairs. After awhile and no one knocked on her door, she was wondering if maybe someone came to talk to her parents, maybe something about the raise her dad was always talking about. From outside the open window she could hear two people talking some weird language, which sounded like a series of grunts and snarls. _

_Hanna, however, ignored these sounds as she continued to inch toward her parent's room. After what felt like eternity the little girl touched the slightly ajar door to her mother and father's bedroom, and pushed gently. It was dark, far darker than her room, which always scared her whenever she went in to sleep with them, just in case she thought the boogeyman was going to get her. Something was rustling in the room, and she could hear a gasp escaped her mother's lips before the rustling sound put a stop to it quickly. _

_"Mommy…? D-Daddy?" She sniveled again. "I can't sleep…" The rustling stopped. Hanna's large peculiar lavender eyes didn't take long to adjust to the darkness, and that's when she saw a monster. Her eyes went wide as she whimpered and inched backward. She refused to cry however, oblivious to the monster that stood over her parents at their bed, hoping they'd get up and make it go away. They didn't get up however, so Hanna did something that her mother told her to do every night before she went to bed, 'Be strong, and face the monsters in your closest'. Unable to stop one tear from rolling down her cheek, Hanna watched the monster as it made its way to the center of the room, and eyed her with its golden eyes from Hell. _

_"Hello my dear." The low voice said with a mask of kindness over it. Hanna swallowed the nervous lump in her throat that paralyzed her from speaking._

_"H-Hello Mr. B-Boogeyman." She replied. The monster smiled kindly, and his teeth appeared; his sharp, cruel teeth that made Hanna want to scream in fright. _

_"Would you like to come with me little one?" He asked as he extended his hand. "I have many goodies and treasures for you…" Slowly Hanna shook her head. "No? Are you sure?" He asked as he took a step toward her. "Then what is it you want?" He asked. _

_"My mommy and…and my daddy…" The little girl stammered. _

_"Ah…I'm so sorry, they aren't around anymore." The boogeyman replied as he took another step. As he slowly advanced, his teeth were shown again as he chuckled in a menacing manner. Hanna finally cried out, turned, and ran for her bedroom. The boogeyman was quick to sprint after her, but fell prey to the door that was slammed into his face. Hanna turned and ran for her window, unlocking it before she opened it and crawled out with her stuffed tiger. Crouching down, the little girl turned on the roof and screamed when she saw the door begin to open. Her scream seemingly pushed her off the second floor roof and into the front yard bushes, which apparently saved the little girl's life. _

_Trying not to cry at the small cuts on her arms and legs, Hanna looked up and wanted to cry more, having left her stuffed tiger up on the roof. That's when a three-fingered hand snatched it, squeezing it angrily and giving it a deformed look. Looking around, the boogeyman snarled in anger as he tore the tiger to pieces, and stomped and spat on the stuffing. A flash from a nearby explosion exposed the boogeyman's face to Hanna, which had a head that reminded her of the T. Rex from _Jurassic Park_, which she and her parents had watched just nights before. It was red instead of green, and still had the black stripes down its snout and neck. Something that stuck out to her however, was the long scar that stretched down the left side of his face. He snarled once more before he retreated back into the building, and out of sight. Heartbroken, alone and afraid, Hanna laid down and curled up into a little ball, hoping, wishing, that this all was a dream. _

_She didn't get any more sleep that night; the screams, the explosions, the evil laughter being heard from the scarred creature in the distance, all contributed to her not being able to sleep. That next morning, when all of the monsters had left the town, and survivors were going around rounding up everyone, they found Hanna in the bushes, and took her along with them, to start a new life, and hopefully in peace._

* * *

_13 Years Later_

_Munich, Germany_

"Fall back men, fall back!" A staff sergeant cried as he and his small platoon of Marines fired their Assault Rifles at an incoming wave of tyrannosaur-like Abaters. The Abaters fired at them with plasma rifles, burning the skin of those who got hit by them, their black armor made loud thuds as the rain began to pour on them, over their scaly red skin and drenching the Marines. The Marines finally turned and took off sprinting down the cobblestone streets of Old Munich. The staff sergeant, Henry Kelly, stopped when they passed a man standing with his back to the incoming enemies. "They're coming sir; the device is no good, let's get out of here." He said. The man, Karl Kroenen, looked up; however, he refused to say a word. He was dressed in something from what seemed to be the era of World War II, an overcoat over his lieutenant colonel jacket and dress pants, and his army hat, which had an eagle on it. He also wore a blank mask, with only two eyes on it.

Kroenen was in fact from that era, after being injured in a battle, the man was taken into German hospitals where the Nazis did something inhumane, transforming Kroenen from a man into a 'cyborg', a primitive one at that. His blood replaced with dust, his body run by a key placed in a hole where his heart used to be, by twisting the key, he was allowed movement before he had to twist it again, and the undying urge to live. Inside of him, he was like an old fashion clock, with gears twisting and turning constantly, sometimes it was even possible to hear the ticking and the squeaking of the gears.

"Come on sir, the Pelican's this way." Kelly said. Still Kroenen did not move, his hands were behind his back contently and he began to look up into the night and glanced around at his former home, as if ignoring the staff sergeant. Kelly felt that it was hopeless and took off to the ship a few blocks away.

"Heh, heh, heh, a foolish one." An Abater chuckled as he and his group of four Abaters came to a stop behind the former-Nazi.

"Hey, how about you turn to face us when we kill you?" Another said and the rest broke out into evil laughter. Kroenen didn't respond in any manner whatsoever. The leader of the group scowled.

"Think you're too great to fight us? I shall kill you myself human." He growled, tossed his plasma rifle away and marched toward Kroenen. As the Abater came closer, Kroenen spread his arms out.

"What's the vermin up to?" One Abater muttered to another. As the Abater leader opened his mouth to reveal his dagger-like teeth and his razor-sharp claws were ready to tear Kroenen to shreds, a long wrist blade shot out from each of the cyborg's sleeves.

"Uh oh." The Abater muttered as Kroenen spun in a smooth motion, slicing his head off with ease.

"Fire!" Another Abater boomed as blue plasma showered Kroenen, who stood still, taking the hits with no resistance at all.

"What is that?" An Abater asked. Finally the plasma rifles ran out of ammo and the three beasts tossed them away, ready to fight hand-to-hand. All at once, the three Abaters charged at Kroenen, who kept his calm state. He jumped and in a twirling move, kicked one Abater into the fountain he stood by, then while in midair, brought a blade down on another's throat. As he landed, he stood in a crouched position, before he spun on his heel at the last Abater, slicing its legs open. The Abater roared in pain before the cyborg jumped to his full height, bringing a blade up through the Abater's chin until it extended from the top of his head.

A moment of silence passed, the only sound was that of rain hitting Kroenen, the Abaters, and cobblestone. In a swift move, Kroenen pulled the blade out of the Abater and sheathed them both in his sleeves once more. He looked down at the fountain, where the last Abater sat, trembling in fear, something of an odd sight for the oh-so-mighty Abaters. After a long silence between the two of them, the reptilian alien took off running away. Reaching into his vest, Kroenen pulled out a German-modeled MAB Model D, aimed, and fired. The Abater went down instantly from the hit. 

The primitive cyborg put the pistol back into its holster casually and walked away, toward the Pelican dropship, which hadn't taken off yet.

* * *

_Abater Lab_

As darkness engulfed much of the Abater ship, one of the few well lit places on board were the medic labs, which had anything from appendage reattachment to genetically creating the monster Abaters from mixtures of several species DNA being taken care of. Two Abaters guarded the doorway, and their eyes looked up as a powerful leader began to walk toward them. Two Brutes walked by, one was eating a rat alive while the other scowled at the guards. Despite their orders to stand still and protect the doorway, the two guards jerked forward, exposing their teeth and snarling at the ape-like beings. Outdone, the two Brutes walked off.

"Excellent work you two." Said the Abater commander as he approached with a toothy grin. He wore the Abaters' distinct black armor, but what set him apart from others of his kind was that he had spikes running down his snout and along the back of his head. This earned him the title of Spike, a commander to the army and brother of the late Commander Scar.

"Ah, Commander Spike, the head scientist is waiting for you." One of the guards said as he slapped the butt of his spear to the floor, and the door opened. The commander looked at the guards with a near sinister grin, nodded his thanks, and walked in. Surrounded with high-tech devices and experiments, Spike always found it easy to not ask questions while in the presence of the head scientist, Jekyll as he was called. He was named this from an Abater who took an interest to human literature, especially dark stories such as _Dracula_, _The Raven_, _Frankenstein_, and especially _Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde_. This bookworm of an Abater called the head scientist Dr. Jekyll for his genetically altered beasts, almost all of which were rabid and mad. The name stuck, surprisingly. Jekyll turned to Spike; he was an elderly Abater, with a slump in his back and scaly skinny chalkier than most, and what the species had for lips were horribly chapped.

"Commander, pleasure to have you come." He said and presented his invention. "It's been some time since I've worked on cybernetics, but I have it down. Say hello you two." Spike looked at the robotically altered creature before him, a cyborg, before his teeth beamed out to reveal his smile.

"Hello brother…"

* * *

**Been awhile eh? Can't guarantee how or not this will be updated, with school getting ready to start, sports, and my job, it will be hard to juggle all four things together. But hey, hope you guys like this start to the finale to the Abate series. **


	2. New Paris

**Chapter 2**

As the Abaters had begun to reclaim Earth again, even less fortress cities existed. In fact, only thirteen cities were alive and 'safe', each was far from each other and often had to rely on themselves to survive. To make matters even worse, global warming had sped up triple fold, as most of the ice caps were completely gone, thanks to the enemy's plans. The United Kingdom, which just months ago was suffering from minor flooding in London and the coastal regions on its borders, was now nowhere to be found on the map. It had been completely engulfed by water, just as the great empire of Atlantis had in ancient myth. Along with the UK, New York City, most of California, the Islands of the Caribbean, much of Australia, the islands of the Pacific, Japan, and Madagascar had been lost to flooding, with much flooding the other coastal regions. Some of the oceans climbed so far into the States that Colorado actually had a sea of its own. To pile onto this, poverty was common in the world, as the soldiers were slowly loosing hope of winning, thanks to the disappearance of the lone Spartan and the supposed deaths in battle of most of the Evangelions. Thankfully civilians never heard of the Spartan and Eva projects, for if they had, their lack of faith would be much worse off. Truth is, however, that the Committee had began to fear the Evas and their questions, backed up by powerful scientists such as Dr. Winchester, and even more powerful, and thus threatening powers like the slowly returning UN and even General Grievous, General Rykov and General 'Fortamee, so they saw it fit to take them out silently.

Armed with less than a dozen Evangelions, the world was beginning to bicker at who got what, and civil war began to appear over the horizon. All the while, the only man who could put an end to this, Bill Kingsley, did what he could to ensure that he and only those worthy could leave Earth to a safer planet, and postpone the inevitable. Now while those who did have hope prayed to God for help, many looked to the Committee as a beacon of hope as well, while many of those who served under it had grown wary of Kingsley's intentions.

* * *

_New Paris, France_

New Paris, constructed as a fortress city from Paris, the romantic getaway of the world. New Paris, on the other hand, was far from romantic. Driven by machines due to the lack of human workers able to run everything, New Paris, though still retaining much of its cultural diversity, was slowly seeing the terror of crime as gangs arose from the cities darkest corners. With everything from police officers to firemen enlisted to the war, there wasn't much to keep crime at bay and stop the children of the night to claim the city. There was a Committee base in New Paris, where everything from weapons research to tactical deployments was occurring. Everyone who worked there or even visited had to be escorted home via a trained soldier, to prevent further crimes. The last thing that needed to happen was to have one of the world's leading scientists be mugged and shot in a dark ally. Many admitted this was a good idea from Kingsley.

As the sun began to set beyond the sky blue force field surrounding the city, a young woman found it necessary to go home to her father's apartment. Escorted by an extraterrestrial species known as an Elite, young Abigail Jenkins looked down as she ignored the puddles of dirty water she stepped into. She knew the Elite that was escorting her; he was a spec ops officer, and the spec ops commander's right-hand man. His name was Zuri 'Zukamee, a mild-mannered young Elite whose black armored shimmered as they both passed streets lights dull from age. Wielding an assault rifle, 'Zukamee glanced down every alleyway they passed by, to see if any hooligans were causing any trouble. Then he would look over to a historical building, probably two or three hundred years old, perverted with graffiti marking the biggest gang's territory in the city. He sighed as he looked down.

"What they do here is unacceptable." He murmured. Abigail looked up, her lively green eyes looking at the Elite, as he was now leading her. She knew what he was talking about, but didn't reply. Abigail had been an emotional wreck these past few weeks, ever since the Master Chief went MIA. Many lost their hope at that, and those closest to him were hurt the most. Now she had a phobia of going anywhere alone, ever since the week before she was mugged and nearly raped by a band of gang members before 'Zukamee intervened. That's what really started the friendship between the two. Sure, they had spoken before that, but now they could relate a lot easier. 'Zukamee had lost someone he loved, Ray, and Abigail lost someone she loved, Sven.

Walking up the rusty steps up to her apartment, the spec ops Elite slowed down and stayed behind the young woman; make sure no one would sneak up behind her on the stairs. Together they approached near the end of the hallway, where Abigail was living with her father, Bartholomew Jenkins. When they arrived from Tokyo-03 to New Paris, Abigail and her mother Victoria Myer had found out Bartholomew had followed them, and offered to let Abigail live with him. Not wanting to be a burden on her mother, who already had another child and husband, Abigail accepted the offer. This only made her go from being calm and optimistic to terrified and jumpy. Her father was never home, and the fact was, the only reason why he bought the apartment was for Abigail. With so many things that were going on; the fear of Abaters attacking, gangs breaking in, being shot, being raped, and just the feeling of hopelessness, Abigail nearly cried herself to sleep every night.

"Here we are." 'Zukamee announced as he watched Abigail bring out a key from her purse and open the door. Not wanting to go home alone and with the sound of gun shots and loud rap music to be with her all night, the young woman looked to the Elite, her eyes wide and almost scared.

"Would…would you like to come in?" She asked. 'Zukamee shook his head and began to walk away. "Please?" She persisted. Suddenly the Elite stopped, sensing the desperation in her voice. "I can make you something to eat…or…or maybe some tea?" 'Zukamee sighed again as he turned to her, looking at the once proud and gleeful Abigail Jenkins be nothing but a desperate young woman ready to risk anything to not go another night of tears. Slowly he nodded.

"Sure Ms. Jenkins…"

Abigail set the teacup and plate of buttered toast down before the Elite, who nodded his thanks to her. She only had tea and sat down with that, taking a shaky sip from it. The apartment was a wreck, the walls and ceiling were brown with age and water stains covered them, the backroom door was always closed because of the blood-stained furniture and walls the previous owner forgot to clean up, and the apartment was almost always hot.

"How do you like it?" Abigail asked. 'Zukamee took a sip from the tea, and nodded again. He smiled, just to let Abigail feel better about it.

"It's very good." He said. He looked at her once lively green eyes, as they looked from his to the table. 'Zukamee could easily feel the nerve-wracking feeling she was having, and with the feeling of loneliness and hopelessness, he could see this girl was simply terrified, terrified of anything and everything around her. "Abigail, I don't think I ever told you, but I'm sorry for what happened to the Master Chief…" He sighed and shook his head. "It devastated everyone we know, you know that." He looked down at her hand, watching as it slowly curled up, to form a weak and pained fist.

"And I'm sorry…" She whispered. 'Zukamee's head raised slightly, confused. Her eyes looked back on him. "About Ray." Suddenly the gnawing feeling returned to the Elite as he supported his head on his hand. "These past few weeks have hurt us all…" Abigail added, her voice forewarning the upcoming tears that would be released. As she began to sob, and covered her mouth with her hand, with her sickness still appearing every now and then, she murmured her apologies and ran to the restroom. Sighing again, 'Zukamee stood up and retrieved his assault rifle from leaning up against the wall. As his boots carried him toward the door, he paused, and looked to the restroom, hearing Abigail's sickness through the walls. Slowly and hesitantly he approached the door, waiting for a long silence until he would knock. "Yes…?" Came an ill voice from the other side.

"Are you going to be okay?" 'Zukamee asked. A long silence passed, and just before the Elite was going to turn around and walk away, the door opened. Before 'Zukamee could say anything Abigail wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly as she continued to weep into his chest.

"I'm sorry I brought it up. Forgive me." She sobbed.

"No, no, it's okay, I should just…" The Elite began.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" Abigail said softly as she slowly released 'Zukamee, took a step back, and wiped her tears away. She clasped her hands together in front of her and looked down. "I'm sorry I did that." 'Zukamee's eyes narrowed.

"Stop being sorry." He snapped. Abigail shot her near frightened gaze upon him. "It wasn't your fault, understand? It wasn't your fault Sven died…it's not your fault that only the dumbest humans are leading what's left of your civilization to rubble, it's not your fault that corruption has taken place, nor that the Abaters are winning…" He took deep breaths as his piercing gaze softened, so that his eyes looked concerned. "If you want to cry on my shoulder, do it. If you want to talk about it, do it." He looked at Abigail's frightened face and looked down in shame. "I apologize for my behavior." He turned and opened the door again, and just as he set a boot out of the door.

"'Zukamee…" Abigail asked. The Elite looked over his shoulder.

"Yes Abigail?" He asked back. Abigail hesitated, but took a step forward, leaning up against the restroom doorway.

"Do…do you think it'll get better." She asked softly, but just loud enough for 'Zukamee to hear. The Elite was about to reply, caught himself, then in a softer voice, said.

"I don't know Abigail." He looked forward, out toward the building across the street, also covered in graffiti. "Take care." The Elite said and closed the door.


	3. Enter Grievous

**Chapter 3**

_Ship: __A Grievous Fate_

"Oh, oh my! Touché General!" A blue orb-shaped object called out. This being was 343 Guilty Spark, the Monitor of the human race, oddly however, he wasn't on Earth. To prevent him from falling into Kingsley's hands, Frederick MacDonald and Dr. Winchester decided to ship up into space with General Grievous, the cyborg Kaleesh and last of his kind. Grievous was known for his cold heart, his brilliant tactics, and as he once told Fred, his _"Fantastic acting"_, which in fact could only hold up for a limited amount of seconds…

Grievous and Guilty Spark were playing checkers atop of the commander post, with Grievous's assistant Nikki glancing over to them every once in awhile. Nikki was one of the few people Grievous trusted, and thus he didn't treat her like slime, much like he acts toward organisms who defy him. The cyborg had just jumped not one, but two of Guilty Spark's checkers, a feat no human could accomplish.

"Ah ha, ha, ha!" Grievous laughed out loud before he leaned over coughing. Grievous had a problem with one of his lungs. When he was being reanimated, one of the German engineers working on him accidentally crushed one of his lungs in his armor. "You fail to see my genius Monitor." He chuckled.

"So sorry to hear of your Kaleesh Monitor by the way." Guilty Spark said as he moved a checker toward one of Grievous's.

"Bah, we're good as gone anyway." Grievous said with a wave of his hand. "I would've liked to meet this Kaleesh Monitor before the Prophets dipped it in acid nonetheless, but there are no more Kaleesh, just part of one, left in the whole universe." Nikki perked her head up from her computer screen, and looked over her shoulder to the two robotic beings talk. Grievous never would've said something like that to her or Frederick, he would've ignored that his kind did once have a Monitor. She smiled when she came to the conclusion that Grievous had finally found a friend, and smiled even wider when she thought about how much he'd deny it.

Before long Nikki turned herself to get a slightly more comfortable position to watch the two battle in checkers. As the blue lightning bolt flashed out from Guilty Spark's eye and jumped one of the Grievous's checkers, he hovered up and looked upward.

"Oh Beginners how you have blessed me with genius!" He said and laughed loudly. He hadn't been on the ship long, just a day or two, and already most of the crew wanted to kill the annoying Monitor and his annoying laugh. Grievous looked like he was stumped, looking for an outcome to assist him, making Spark laugh all the more. "I have stumped you, and you will loose. I can feel it!" Soon enough Grievous's widened eyes narrowed down on him, and bringing a robotic claw reached down to one of his red checkers, and to Guilty Spark's and Nikki's amazement, jumped all of the Monitor's remaining checkers, six in all, each perfectly aligned to be beaten. Guilty Spark stared at the checkerboard, then slowly to Grievous. "Impossible…" He muttered.

"This only proves that _I_ am the genius here Monitor." Grievous said, grinning if he could. He coughed slightly, but that was it.

"Er…how about best two out of three?" Guilty Spark asked. Grievous's eyes narrowed as he chuckled.

"My pleasure…" He laughed. That's when the doors opened, and none other than Lieutenant Bartholomew Jenkins entered the room. Scanning the room warily, the man didn't take his eyes on the cyborg at first, allowing for Nikki to jump in front of them. Blocking Grievous from the Lieutenant's sight, she greeted him with a warm smile.

"Lieutenant Jenkins, it's a surprise to see you." She said with her forced smile. "Grievous is a little tied up right now and…"

"I am not." Grievous snapped as he stood up and walked toward the two. "Bartholomew Jenkins." He sneered.

"General Grievous." The Lieutenant replied coldly as he crossed his arms.

"What's with the surprise visit?" The Kaleesh cyborg asked as he hunched down and came eye-to-eye with the man. "Hold that thought. Have I ever told you that with your reputation within the Committee, I always used to picture you being…taller?"

"Yes…several times as a matter of fact." Jenkins grumbled.

"Ah where does my mind go?" Grievous asked as he turned and returned to his command post. As he passed Guilty Spark, he kicked over the table with the checkerboard and checkers on it, ruining the game just as the Monitor had readied to play another round. Then he watched over his personnel, all scurrying about to monitor Abater ship movements and make sure none got too close to Earth to release any life pods.

"Well General, I've been assigned to work with you, with the letter signed by Kingsley himself." The Lieutenant replied as he stood at Grievous's side.

"Himself?" Grievous chuckled. Bartholomew looked at him in a most suspicious manner. "More than likely it was a photocopy of his signature, which he puts on every document the Committee makes." Jenkins muttered something under his breath, just as Guilty Spark hovered up to Grievous's other side. Nikki had returned to her post, and a long painful silence hushed over everyone. Since their grand argument in Jenkins's ship, word spread fast of their hatred, and even Grievous's workers had joked about what would happen if the two were on the cyborg's turf. Of course, none of them expected it to happen, and now everyone was silent as they waited for the battle to begin. After so long, Grievous raised his head slightly. "So, how is your daughter?" He asked.

"What? Why?" Bartholomew snapped. The two men looked down to see every single worker look up with wide eyes at them, they even heard one of the younger men whisper to another _'They're going to fight…'_

"Well, shoot me for trying to start up a conversation." The cyborg growled as he looked forward down on Earth. He placed his hands behind his back and seemed oblivious to Jenkins as he glared down the cyborg, and reached into a shoulder holster concealed by his jacket. Suddenly Grievous's left arm separated into two, one shot up and pointed to Jenkins menacingly, while the other remained concealed behind the Kaleesh cyborg's back.

"Not literally…" Grievous growled, without even looking to Jenkins.

* * *

_Outside New Orleans-02_

Despite the horrible hurricanes that ravaged the old town of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina some thirty years before, the soft soil there actually benefited its residents against Abater attacks, even without the humans' trusty shielding over the city. Nearly all the creatures in the Abater army weren't used to fighting in marshes and swamps, and New Orleans-02 was surrounded by them. If the enemy tried an aerial assault, they'd be taken down before they could get too close thanks to giant cannons. Some said New Orleans-02 was the best fortress city of them all. Those who lived there adapted themselves physically to the environment, and thanks to knowledge of their home ground, were able to use stealth easily there. These people served as scouts, who would patrol the area and alert soldiers of incoming squads or ships.

Chuck Harris lit up a cigarette as he picked up his hunting rifle and walked out of the patrol post. Harris was one of many scouts along New Orleans-02's border. He was a middle-aged man, married with a daughter in the city's one and only high school, and since he had a history in hunting, he had signed up for the job the moment they handed out papers. Unfortunately poor funding meant everyone had to bring their own weapons, some of the younger men only had pocket knives to protect themselves, but Harris thanked himself for keeping his old hunting rifle. He zipped up his camouflage jacket as he began to trek out farther and farther from base camp to patrol the area. Thankfully he and everyone else carried walkie-talkies to keep in touch with one another and warn of danger. All morning Harris and the others had heard rumbling sounds in the ground, which a few, including Chuck, volunteered to venture out to see what it was. After awhile of marching through the muck Harris pulled up his walkie-talkie.

"This is Red Eagle Five what's everyone's status over?" He asked.

_"Good to hear ya Red Eagle Five this is Spittin' Cobra. Everything's fine here over." _Replied a voice through the device.

_"This is Mustang Twenty-three, clear here too over."_ Came another voice. Harris was satisfied, but with one problem. Timber Wolf Nine didn't answer.

"Timber Wolf Nine, do you hear over?" Chuck asked over the walkie-talkie. There was no response. "His walkie must be down over." He said to the others. The other two men replied with something and said to be careful, just in case.

_"Mustang Twenty-three here, there's something rumbling under me over." _One of the men's voices said over the link.

_"This is Spittin' Cobra, that's probably just a gator in the muck."_ The other man's voice said. _"Oh wait…I can feel it too over."_

_"Yeah maybe Spittin' Cobra, only problem is…I'm on dry land over." _Mustang Twenty-three replied. _"Spittin' Cobra?"_ And both he and Harris were replied with silence.

"Be sure to keep your eyes open for anything Mustang over." The man said over the walkie-talkie.

_"Can do sir."_ The other man replied. A quick silent moment passed before he came back on. _"Uh sir the ground's really rumbling now…I have no idea what it could…Oh GOD!!" _

"Mustang? Mustang?!" Harris cried over the walkie-talkie. He could only hear screams now as he could tell the walkie-talkie slowly turn off as his pal's dead hands released it. "God damn it…" He muttered to himself before he could feel the rumbling beneath his own feet. Not willing to go down like his comrades had, Harris took off in a dead sprint as he hoped he could outrun the quakes. He something crackling behind him, sound similar to when one breaks open an egg, and the man knew that something was breaking through the ground for him. Quickly he turned with his hunting rifle posed and ready to attack. Nothing was there for him, only cracks in the grounds. After a long moment of retaining his cool, Harris chuckled. "Maybe they just fell in one of those cracks…" Slowly his chuckle turned into a laugh, convincing himself his friends were okay. As he began to walk casually away, and with the rumbling and quakes exterminated, the man walked toward where his friends hopefully were, so he could help them out of the holes.

Suddenly something shot out of the ground and grabbed Harris's ankle. As the man turned to see what it was, what he felt was a dozen more shot up, grabbing at him as if they were zombies. They all grabbed at his ankles, and within seconds had him pinned in their surprisingly powerful grasp. Without a chance to even holler for help the hands pulled him under in a swift yank. A moment of silence passed, grunting noises came from underground, before Harris's screams echoed throughout the swamp, scaring away nearly all the birds in the swamp. Just as quickly as his screams had come, they stopped abruptly when it sounded like bones snapping…

* * *

**So I added two chapters in case I don't have time later. It's two-a-days cross country this week so I'll probably be sleeping a lot, as well as working (sacking groceries alright!) and I'll see ya later.**


	4. Return to Fair Oaks

Chapter 4

_Outside of Fair Oaks_

Birds chirped loudly as the morning sun beamed down on everything that happened to be green. Just outside of the small and once beautiful town of Fair Oaks was a forest, one of the town's attractions for tourists in fact. Everything about the forest had been kept safe, with no destruction or piled up trash there. Many newspapers in the region called it a perfect paradise and hikers could always see what it looked like when humans didn't ruin the woods. At the time everyone in the town made sure the forest was fully preserved, even the teenagers cared about it and were proud of it. When the Abaters swept through, no one really knew what happened to it, those inside the Committee base underground never went to the surface to go sight seeing, so it was assumed that the forest was burned. Surprisingly enough, however, was that the Abaters marveled in scenery, and despite many of the Prophets' and Brutes' yearnings to, the Abaters actually decided to preserve much of Earth's scenic beauty. This often clashed with the fact that Abaters were also contributing greatly to global warming. Yes, there were fields that were burned during their initial attack, the Abaters actually worked hard to make sure nothing bad became of the forest, knowing the fields would return much quicker than a forest would.

Despite global warming, this place seemed completely unaffected by it all. Frogs chirped followed by crickets as a stream's rippling water sound accompanied them and the birds. Soon enough footsteps and cracking twigs could be heard. A giant emerged from a patch of thick grass as he stood up stretched himself for another long day.

"Spartan." Came a low voice. The emerald-armored being turned to spot another figure standing beside a stream, who stood out in the green forest greatly. Bright red eyes, shimmering silver armor, with an unbolted mouthpiece that allowed the AI to speak, this being was Eva-04, one of the messengers of the Beginners as he said. The other being, the one in green armor, was a Spartan, just as Eva-04 had called him. Not only was he a Spartan, but the last, the Master Chief, Sven McGregor was his real name, and he was said to be one of driving forces against the whole Abater invasion. Eva-04 looked up and toward the Chief. "We should continue our quest." He said. Without a word, the Chief nodded, and looked into one of the ammo bags on his belt. What they had collected since the past three weeks wasn't much; a Christian cross and a bird skull. He buttoned the bag back up and picked up his Battle Rifle off the ground.

"Where to?" He asked. The AI looked at the Spartan with his red eyes, before he turned and crouched down, studying the flow of the stream water.

"Just a little North now. We should be there in half an hour." He said and stood up and walked beside the stream. The Master Chief looked down at Eva-04's boots, walking into the mud over and over again, yet they didn't get dirty. He didn't wonder about this long, since he had awakened from suspended animation some six months before, everything was different to him and he stopped asking questions. As the Spartan hurried to catch up, Eva-04 suddenly stopped. The Master Chief stood at his side and looked at him through his blank visor, wondering what happened. "Smoke." The AI said and nodded upward. The Spartan looked up, and through an opening in the trees, he could see smoke rising into the air. Since he was sure that no one had survived the Abater attack and several Abater sweeps through the area, the Master Chief took off, becoming a blur as he headed in the direction. He could barely hear Eva-04 shout out. "Wait!" Before it become muffled by the sound of snapping twigs and brushing by foliage and vegetation.

Spotting a clearing coming up, the Master Chief leaped forward. Rolling once before he got to his feet, the Spartan raised his Battle Rifle and pointed the end of it around at any moving object. Gasps and quick shrieks filled the clearing, as the Master Chief suddenly realized; this was a village of humans, all of those who were outside stared with mouths open and eyes wide at him. Taking deep breaths, he slowly stood to his feet, and lowered the weapon. The village was covered with trees over them, to protect them from the summer's powerful sun, as well as hide them from Abater sweeps. Cottages with surprisingly excellent craftsmanship were dotted around the village, with the center having a large cauldron over and open bonfire. The villagers themselves looked like something from the 1800's. Women wore dresses while men wore suits, those of which working didn't have suit jackets on. The Master Chief looked around nervously for several minutes, keeping his eyes out for any angry village people. However, the all seemed frightened, especially the children. Hearing a ruffling sound behind him, the Spartan knew who it was as Eva-04 entered the clearing.

"Please forgive my friend here. He's a little jumpy for battle, he's bred for it." The AI announced. Slowly people began to pull themselves together and some even approached. Two children approached the Spartan quickly, and stared up at the giant figure who loomed at about seven feet. One of the men who was working on something approached as well; sweat giving his shirt a damp appearance.

"Who are you?" The man asked. Knowing the Chief wasn't about to reply anytime soon to strangers, Eva-04 stepped forward.

"I am Eva-04, an AI construct sent by the Beginners to accomplish something great. This is my partner Spartan-015, the Master Chief. Before he accompanied me on our quest, he was a soldier fighting against the Abater army." Intrigued gasps filled the village people, as more and more came out from their homes to see them. A man wearing one of the better suits of everyone and wearing a top hat stepped forward, the Spartan and Eva presumed this was their mayor, or chairman, or whoever it was who ran the community. This man had orange-red hair, and a matching colored bushy mustache, which came down over his mouth, and gave him the appearance of frowning all the time, even if he wasn't.

"What is this…quest?" He asked with his powerful voice. Eva-04 thought for a moment, thinking of just the right words to say.

"Unfortunately it would take much too long for me to explain right here right now." The AI replied. The leader nodded.

"Please then uh…Eva-04, if you could step into my home, I'm sure you could explain to us what your quest is. It's been many years since we've seen outsiders." The man said as he pointed over to his cottage.

"And we thank you for your hospitality." Eva-04 replied, before he murmured. "Nothing like the Committee has…" He looked to the Chief. "Spartan, would you mind staying here? To make sure that nothing happens."

"Yes sir." The Spartan said with a nod. Eva-04 nodded his thanks before he was escorted by the mayor into his cottage, followed by half of the village. When the door closed, the Master Chief turned to see the same two children, one boy, one girl, still staring up at him.

"You fight Abaters?" The girl asked in a soft, near frightened voice. The Spartan merely nodded.

"Do you kill them?" The boy asked. Again, the Chief nodded.

"Well we have a…" The girl began. Suddenly a young woman appeared behind the two children, her hands on one of the children's shoulder.

"Now, now, Mister Chief probably doesn't like to be plagued with questions you two. Why don't you go find some more dandelions to put by your mother's bed?" The two kids cheered as he dashed off, toward a bed of dandelions on the other side of the village. With a nervous snicker, the woman looked at the Chief. "I'm sorry, they haven't seen any outsiders in their lives and…"

"It's okay ma'am." The Master Chief said politely with a nod. He looked at her and got a better look at her now. She looked like she was probably sixteen or seventeen years of age, with slightly tanned skin, but it was still quite pale compared to others of the village. Her long brown colored hair had been intertwined as it fell down her back, far past her shoulders, but he couldn't see just how far it went. The most intriguing feature about her however was her lavender eyes, the Spartan didn't even know such eyes existed. The girl smiled faintly and nervously as she bowed her head in return.

"I'm sure you must be thirsty." She said. The Spartan looked over the mayor's home; through the window he could see people surrounding Eva-04 as he told them their tale. Slowly he nodded to her. She turned and led the Master Chief to her cottage. She was odd, the Chief thought, her smiles, which were quite weak, still seemed forced for some reason. Suddenly the Spartan heard the clanking sound of metal against metal, and he looked down, spotting a piece of a ship on the ground. This bothered him for a few moments, before he followed the girl into her home. "This is actually where newcomers stay." She added as she entered the kitchen area. Taking a look around the old home, the Master Chief saw how blank it was. White walls, white ceilings, wood floor, that was it. He supposed since the attack no one had any pictures or anything similar to liven up the room any. The main entrance was simple, to the left was the living room, to his right the dining room, where another door was that went into the kitchen, and in front of him were the stairs to the second level.

Studying the house, the Master Chief aimlessly walked to his right, into the dining room. All that was in the room was a large wooden table with four wooden chairs around it, but the Spartan could see more pieces of metal scattered over an old stained cloth on it. He stepped toward it cautiously, studying the pieces of metal carefully. Unfortunately he wasn't an engineer and could not tell what they were from. Slowly he touched the purple chunks of metal, unsure of whether or not it was of a Ghost, a Banshee or a Phantom.

"Fascinate you too?" Said the girl's voice. The Master Chief turned to see the young woman with a tray in her hands with a few cups of lemonade on top of it. The Spartan nodded.

"Where's it from?" He asked as he stood up straighter.

"It's from my Phantom, before I crashed it." Said an unseen voice. The girl and Spartan looked over to see a familiar Abater appear from the staircase. Without hesitation, the Master Chief raised his rifle to the menace. The girl's lavender eyes flashed themselves at the Spartan for bringing the weapon up. The Abater held his hands up casually. "Remember me?" He asked. "I…I struck a deal between us for the safety of the human female for my men?" Recalling the time, the Spartan slowly lowered his weapon. Tusk forced a rather weak chuckle. "I've broken away from the Abater forces, upon the assassination of our Chancellor at the hands of Tartarus." Quickly the Master Chief cursed the name of the Brute in his mind.

"That…weapon has no reason to be here." Said the girl. Quickly she recollected herself and took in a deep relaxed breath. When she opened her eyes she smiled softly again. "I'm sorry." She said. The Master Chief nodded in acknowledgement and slid the battle rifle onto the magnetic plate on his back, keeping it in place.

"I'm Major Tusk, in case you wouldn't happen to remember." The Abater said in order to kill the tense moment. The Master Chief nodded again.

"Please sir, I apologize, but I've forgotten to introduce myself." The girl said as she curtseyed slightly. "My name is Hanna Frost."

"Pleasure to meet you Ms. Frost." The Master Chief replied as he bowed his body slightly.

"I've been taking care of Major Tusk since he crashed here a few weeks ago." Hanna added.

"Might I just ask what you're doing here Master Chief?" Tusk asked as he crossed his arms. The Spartan thought for a moment, then turned back to the Abater.

"I'm not sure myself." He replied.

"Well, as long as we're here we're friends eh?" The Abater asked. The two humans nodded slightly. As the Abater smiled warmly to his newfound friends, there came an urgent knocking on the door. Hanna stepped in front of the two giants and answered the door. When she opened it the two kids from earlier were there. Their eyes were wide and their mouths as small as they could possibly be, as if they had seen a ghost.

"What's wrong you two?" Hanna asked.

"We…we saw something in the woods…" Said the little girl.

"We think it was Bigfoot." Added the little boy. Yes tales like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster had survived the Abater attacks and kept the survivors who were old enough to remember such stories something to talk about. Everything from vampires to Mothman were told to keep little children in line, and Bigfoot especially captured their imaginations. Hanna looked at them blankly with her violet colored eyes, unable to fully believe them and their wild imaginations. "Come quickly, before he runs away." Said the boy as the two children grabbed each of Hanna's hands.

"Wait, what does this…Bigfoot look like?" The Master Chief asked suddenly as he took a step forward. The little girl stood up on her tiptoes in order to feel slighter taller towards the Spartan.

"He's big, tall, hairy, and he looks like a giant monkey." She replied with a lisp.

"Brutes." Tusk murmured. Pulling his battle rifle from his back quickly, the Master Chief moved past Hanna and the children outside, weapon in hand. The Spartan turned quickly to those in the house.

"You, keep them inside, and safe." He motioned to Tusk. The Abater nodded.

"Right." He said and pulled the two children inside as well as Hanna.

"What's wrong? Is Bigfoot mean?" The little girl asked. Tusk shut the curtains around the house, before long both the boy and even Hanna asked.

"So far we don't think it's silly Bigfoot." The Abater replied. Cautiously Hanna opened a curtain open just a crack, to see the Master Chief looking back at the house. After so long, he turned his attention in the direction of the dandelion patch, but it didn't take long before a huge green blob was sent flying toward him. Rolling over, the Spartan dodged the plasma blob and sprayed bullets into the woods in the direction of the blast. The mayor's house door opened, Eva-04 out first, then the townspeople. The Spartan turned.

"Get them inside." He ordered. Eva-04 glared down the Master Chief, frustrated at him as well as respecting him for yelling at him.

"You heard him, there's a threat that must be handled." He said and forced everyone inside again. Feeling the adrenaline run through his veins for the first time in awhile, the Spartan scanned the area for anything Brute-like, Jackal-like, or just anything abnormal. For some reason, however, he didn't feel any anger in the Abaters, having just talked to one he met awhile ago. What made him wonder was that perhaps the Abaters weren't evil…just blemished. As he slowly lowered his weapon to scan further, he heard a thick footstep far in the distance, thanks to his enhanced hearing. Again to thank his enhanced reflexes, the Master Chief leaped out of the way as an unseen force smashed through a cottage wall. He turned to face a Brute in shimmering brownish-gold armor, with an ornate headdress. It was obvious this Brute was of high ranking. It growled as it slammed its free fist against his golden chest plate, a gorilla-like trait, while in its other hand it held a weapon similar to Tartarus's Fist of Rukt. Of course with no sinister comments the Spartan knew this wasn't Tartarus, besides the fact that Tartarus would tower over even this Brute.

"Master Chief." The Brute scowled. "We were told that you died." He readied himself in a battle pose as more Brutes appeared from the forest. "Then I'll just kill you myself."

_"Nothing like Tartarus."_ The Master Chief surveyed in his mind. In a lightning fast move the Spartan smashed the butt of his rifle into the face of an incoming Brute that thought it could sneak up behind him. Dark blood flowing from its face, the Spartan commenced to kick it with tremendous force and put a bullet into its skull before it turned to face another onslaught. Firing a barrage of bullets into the gut of a Brute, the Master Chief suddenly came to realize he was out of ammo, and tossed his rifle to the ground, when two Brutes charged simultaneously. As he readied to punch one, he also tensed at the thought of being struck by a Brute's shear strength when a red fist appeared and punched the Brute in the jaw.

"Chief." Tusk said with a nod as he turned to face more Brutes. Back-to-back, the Abater and Spartan did an all time first for both species, cooperating. Thanks to his MJOLNIR-III armor, the Master Chief was able to smash bone and do so even through the Brutes' thick hides. Tusk, on the other hand, appeared to struggle much more to dispose of Brutes. However, this didn't stop him from killing or injuring as many as he could with pure fury. The Brute leader watched on with wide eyes, he couldn't believe that the High Prophets were right about so much about the Spartan. Just as he managed to take down another Brute, the Master Chief turned to the leader, who continued to watch them with a sinister grin on his face.

"I'm going for it." He murmured to Tusk as he transformed into a blur towards the Brute. The Abater took off right behind him to slash and punch the Brutes that were going to get in the Spartan's way. He kept glancing around the forest, it just seemed like endless Brutes were coming from the woods, some unarmed, some armed heavily, and all were, however, deadly. With a smug chuckle the Brute leader lowered his replica of the Fist of Rukt and fired some sort of gravity blast from it. This struck the Master Chief head-on, managing for him to skid to a halt, but he kept at it, running again. Again a gravity blast was fired, and again the Master Chief was hit, this time he skidded backwards.

"That's thing gets more powerful with each hit." Tusk said as he stopped at the Spartan's side. Without a word or reply, the Master Chief took off again, and again Tusk served as his cover. Again and again the Fist of Rukt was fired, and it didn't take much longer until green paint began to chip off of the MJOLNIR armor, exposing the dull grey color underneath. Another blast, and the Chief was thrown into the air backwards a few feet, but he continued to advance. Another blast and the Spartan was struck along his side, spinning like a cyclone until he hit the ground. Tusk took out a Brute who got too close to the downed Chief, then turned to call out his name. Dizzy, tired and injured from the hammer's awesome blasts, the Master Chief struggled to his feet, cursing at the Brute leader who was just a few more meters away, but seemed like miles to the Chief. Taking off slowly, the Spartan was thrown back some ten feet by another blast, and landed on his back. Surrounded, Tusk could not aid the Chief as he slashed a Brute across the chest. The Brute stumbled back to recover, and two more Brutes replaced its position.

_"I can't do this." _The Abater thought as he turned around and around. Brutes from every direction and nothing to fight them with, it didn't seem likely to Tusk that he'd survive this.

"Kill the heretic Abater, then the Spartan." The Brute leader boomed. Suddenly a hellish cry echoed through the forest, and like a flash of lightning, something swooped down from the woods and scooped up the Brute leader in its massive gapping mouth, and disappeared. The Brutes soldiers turned to where their leader stood just moments before.

"What happened?" One of them murmured to another. Tusk didn't do a thing, feeling to conserve his strength for whatever was big enough to take out a fully grown Brute in one shot. Soon enough, the thing returned again to take out another Brute, and soon its comrades fired into the forest, unloading clip after clip into the dark reaches of it. Silence hushed over the village, and everything seemed to be frozen in time. Suddenly a long pinkish needle from an Abate Snipe echoed through the area as one found its way into the back of a Brute's skull, killing it instantly. Again the Brutes turned to face their foe. One of the Brute's gapping mouths opened wide as he dropped it own weapon.

"Impossible, you're supposed to be dead!" He hollered.

"What idiot told you that?" Scar said with a toothy grin as he walked into the clearing. The long scar that stretched from his left eye to his chin was still as visible as it was when the Abater was the prime leader of fear in the Abater army. He fired another shot into a Brute's gut, which passed through into another Brute's side, taking them both out. However, Scar wasn't in his old flesh and blood body, it was something reminiscent of General Grievous's structure, with the exception of it was built to lean more toward strength than speed, and that it was shimmering black metal. Scar's head was all that was original to him. Taking out another Brute, Scar allowed for one of his 'pets' to kill another two or three. Tusk turned to face the Abater, and it turned out to be one of their most deadly creations, a Diamondhead. Its red core glistened in the morning light as it began to devour one of the Brutes it killed.

"Kill them all!" One of the ape-like beasts growled. Scar grinned as more Abaters swarmed in from the forest, taking out the final handful of Brutes within seconds. An Abater officer in a black helmet and wielding some sort of Abater assault rifle rushed over to Scar, who was surveying the area.

"Orders sir?" He asked. Scar looked around, watching his Diamondhead clean up the rest of the dead bodies, glanced at Tusk, and noticed a window with a curtain pulled over it, but someone opened it just a crack to watch.

"Flush out the remaining humans and kill them." The commander ordered.

"No!" Tusk shouted as he took a step forward. The Abaters all turned to him.

"Who in the name of Grimm are you?" Scar hissed.

"Major Tusk sir." The Abater replied. "Please no, these humans can be our friends err…allies." Holding the Abate Snipe in one hand, the commander walked up to the Major, staring down Tusk as he towered over him in his bionic body.

"Listen to yourself, some thirteen years of killing and suddenly you go soft." He growled. "Our goal is universal domination, not this peace crap. Remember?"

"But…but I'm sure humans would never have done such travesties to just claim new territory." Tusk said with determination. Scar slung his weapon over his shoulder and snapped his robotic fingers.

"Soldier, what was that human thing you talked about?" He asked.

"Uh…Manifest Destiny sir." The Abater replied. Scar looked back to Tusk.

"Yes, Manifest Destiny. It's exactly what we're doing, they killed off hundreds of thousands of people for the sake of new land, we're just doing the same…but with planets instead of continents…" He walked past the Major and pointed to the house he saw Hanna from. "Clear that house first."

"You might be making a mistake." Eva-04 said as he appeared seemingly from nowhere. He was leaning up against a support beam to a house, with his arms crossed. The commander turned and scowled at the Eva.

"Who's this clown? Shoot him." Scar ordered. Plasma flew into the Eva, but he was unaffected.

"Commander Scar I presume." Eva-04 said. "I see you've done your homework on human conquers, but I'm afraid that's not your purpose." Scar turned to his men as they broke down the house door.

"Hold it!" He ordered and turned to the Eva. "Go on…"

"You see, humans are not the demons you take them for." The AI replied. "Unfortunately you must find out your own destiny, and I'm afraid _Manifest_ Destiny isn't for you."

"Bring whoever is inside here alive!" Scar ordered from over his shoulder to his men. "We'll see human."

"I am no human." Eva-04 growled as his eyes flashed. Scar chuckled, which turned into an all out laugh.

"Major, what is this? How'd you fit a Grunt into an Eva suit?" He said laughing. The Abaters around forced themselves to chuckle to assist the commander in his point. Suddenly his laughter came to an abrupt halt as he fired his Abate Snipe at the Eva. The shot struck the AI in between the eyes, but didn't do a thing.

"Ignorant too huh?" Eva-04 said sourly. Scar scowled as he turned to face Hanna and the two children. His grin returning to his elongated snout, the Abater looked over his shoulder.

"How about this Eva, I shed the blood of these so-called innocents in the name of our race, what will my destiny be then?" He asked.

"You won't have the destiny you think is yours because you won't do it…" The AI replied casually. Scar growled something in his native tongue to the Eva, then he brought one of his blade-like claws up to Hanna's throat. Oddly enough, however, Hanna hardly budged, her violet eyes just looked into Scar's, and no signs of fear were apparent at all.

"Sir! We found something else." Another soldier said as he ran up with a large orb-shaped object in hand.

"Oh hello, you're an Abater aren't you? How do you do? I am 2401 Penitent Tangent, and you are?" Said the red Abater Monitor as it hovered from the soldier's hands and toward Scar.

"Now what?" Scar snapped.

"Oh there's no need to harm Ms. Hanna there, she's a kind provider really." The Monitor said as he nodded.

"Commander, this is the Abater Monitor." Tusk said as he crossed his arms. Scar scowled at the Monitor.

"Damn Oracles is all they are." He said and grabbed Hanna's throat with his hand. Sticking his thumb into her throat, he managed to draw a few drops of blood, before he reeled her in so they came face-to-face. "Why won't you scream?!" but Hanna didn't reply, she only continued to stare blankly into Scar's eyes, until her eyes glazed over.

"You…" She murmured. Scar scowled and tossed her to the ground, before he turned.

"Fuckin' humans." He snapped and stormed off. The two children stood at Hanna's side and tried to help her up, but she managed to do so just fine by herself. In his fit of rage, Scar looked down and noticed the down Spartan, who he stared at with a blank expression. "The Spartan lives?!" He roared. Tusk slowly nodded. Crying out in anger, Scar continued to storm off. Eva-04 walked over to the Master Chief, and looked to Hanna.

"Ms. Frost, do you have a spare bed?" He asked. Hanna nodded as she wiped away the small trickle of blood down her neck. Tusk looked around at the Abaters who all stood with weapons posed.

"I supposed you'll be able to rest here for now."


	5. What's Left to Fight For?

**Chapter 5**

_Ship: __Reclamation & Glory_

"Chieftain, where is your platoon you sent out?" Said a raspy voice. Together in the Prophets' chamber, a massive Brute stood before two elderly looking aliens. The paler of the two, the High Prophet of Regret, seemed the least impressed with the Brute than the other, the high Prophet of Truth. Truth was the unofficial leader of the Abater army, or so he appeared, having the assassination of Chancellor Grimm boosting his status up. The big Brute stood tall, with his albino appearance and distinctive Mohawk; this was the leader of his people, Tartarus. Renown in the Abater military for his successful assassination of the Princess of England and many other victories, Tartarus was the one the Prophets trusted most followers, and was their actual bodyguard.

"Not with us at the moment Noble Hierarch, but they must have found something. You might be right." The chieftain said as he scratched his thick hairy chin.

"I _was_ right; look at the spot that caused the most damage over and over again, you'll find something." Truth said to the Prophet of Regret, referring to Fair Oaks, and almost as if he were trying to convince him.

"Any replies?" Regret asked.

"None yet Noble Hierarch." Tartarus replied. He tried the communicator in his wrist again, but nothing came up. "They might be a little tangled up."

"Or dead!" Regret cried out as he leaned forward in his throne. Truth sighed as he rubbed his temples with his fingers, obviously to relieve a headache.

"Such a pessimist…" He muttered to himself.

"No, wait Noble Hierarchs, I have something." Tartarus announced as he listened carefully for the other end. Truth looked out the grand windows into space to see their massive fleet, just as half of it turned against the others. His eyes widened, wondering just what was happening.

_"And this is for killing our leader!" _Boomed a voice over the COM link. It was General Drake, leader of the Abater's military forces. _"You've covered up long enough Brute and Prophet slime! We've just received word from Major Tusk of your treachery…like or not we're leaving your pathetic army. It was **us **who led your army, it was **us** who conquered so many civilizations, and it was **US** who will wipe you from our boots at the end of the day. Prepare to die." _And with that, Drake signed off.

"Just what we need, civil war." Regret groaned.

"Wait…Chieftain; did he say…Major Tusk?" Truth asked. "Didn't you say you killed…Major Tusk?" The two Prophets narrowed their eyes at the Brute.

"Forgive me Noble Hierarchs, but I thought that if he fled to Earth, which it seems he did, the humans would kill him. Obviously he's led a platoon into Fair Oaks." The Brute chieftain replied.

"Clever Abater…" Truth hummed as he stroked the beard-like leathery appendage hanging from his chin. "Now then," He perked up. "Let us evacuate ourselves into a safe haven on Earth; I cannot imagine how long we'll be safe on this ship from Drake's forces."

"Of course Noble Hierarch." Tartarus said as he picked up his Fist of Rukt. "I shall escort you."

* * *

_New Paris Base_

Tura 'Takimee walked into the lounge area. Like he did whenever he wasn't training himself or fighting something, the spec ops commander walked throughout the base, getting to know it in case of emergency. This was the first time he had entered the lounge, which was practically the exact same as it was in the Fair Oaks and Tokyo-03 bases, with vending machines, tables, pool tables, and a long couch surrounding a big screen TV. Most of the soldiers were off training and 'Takimee was slightly surprised to see 'Jargomee, 'Verimee, and 'Kakomee all watching some old movie. He walked up and stood over the three Elites.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Spider-Man." 'Jargomee replied as he opened another can of _Mountain Dew_. The white-armored Elite sighed when he saw six cans of empty and crushed cans of the same kind of pop on the floor by his boots. 'Verimee sat contently watching the movies, his legs crossed, while 'Kakomee watched with a similar intensity as 'Jargomee. "We're doing research." He added as he chugged the can down with ease. It came to the part where the mad Green Goblin revealed himself in the burning building and punched Spider-Man in the face.

"YEAH!" 'Jargomee and 'Kakomee cried in unison.

"What kind of research?" 'Takimee asked as he crossed his arms.

"You see, we're looking into old movies, and we stumbled across this human actor, Willem Dafoe, and…words cannot describe his acting skill." 'Jargomee said breathlessly as he pulled another can of pop out from seemingly nowhere.

"Where do you keep getting those?" 'Takimee asked.

"I have my sources." The Elite replied as he cracked it open. 'Takimee groaned out loud as he turned and walked toward the exit. As he left, he smiled to himself; it was so good to see his men go without a care once in awhile, and even 'Jargomee brought the good back up in the spec ops commander. Just as his hand touched the door, 'Kakomee looked over the couch.

"Hey Commander, you should've seen Boondock Saints!" He said. 'Takimee forced a sigh.

"Did it have this Willem Dafoe character in it?" He asked.

"Definitely! You should've seen it, he's so amazing, and he played a homosexual male in it." 'Kakomee hollered. 'Takimee gave the Elite an odd look.

"Um…okay?" He said and exited.

"Yeah, we have to make him watch these movies." 'Kakomee said as he pulled up another pile of movies. "Okay, after this, Willem Dafoe's done, what do you want to watch next?"

"Hmm…how about this Chuck Norris?" 'Jargomee asked. 'Kakomee looked at him with a grin on his mandibles.

"Oh yeah…"

* * *

'Takimee continued to walk throughout the base, until he came into the office of Dr. Herman Winchester and Victoria Myer. When he opened the door, he saw another familiar figure there, smoking a cigarette like usual as he hid his eyes over his black fedora hat. It was none other than Frederick MacDonald, a self-proclaimed super-secret agent for the Committee. Actually, for quite a while, the Committee put a halt to his missions and stopped telling him Committee plans. He practically just hung around and got a paycheck for it. The elderly Dr. Winchester was sitting at his desk, looking through files, while Victoria was at her desk, respectfully, and doing the same thing. The four adults, with their hatred toward the Committee, tended to stick together and watch each others' backs, against anything Kingsley had against them. 'Takimee closed the door and stood up beside Fred.

"Another slow day?" The agent asked as he tipped up his hat. The Elite nodded as he crossed his arms and crossed on foot with the other, leaning up against the wall. Dr. Winchester looked up, repositioning his thick glasses, before a wide smile appeared on his face.

"Oh Commander 'Takimee, how do you do?" He asked.

"I'm fine Doctor, and you?" The Elite asked politely.

"Just same ol', same ol', you know." The elderly scientist said with a chuckle.

"Yes, don't you ever go on missions anymore?" Victoria asked as he set down a set of files and lowered her reading glasses.

"Apparently not, some fancy spec ops team just transferred in from some Asian country, they all know martial arts and know how to shoot a gun." 'Takimee replied. "And now most of my men are off watching Willem Dafoe movies."

"I won't lie; he's a _damn_ good actor." Fred interrupted. 'Takimee looked at the agent.

"Well I think they're still watching in the lounge, go ahead and watch some if you want." The commander offered. Fred took a long drag on his cigarette, snuffed it, and threw in the trashcan.

"I might just do that, your boys always have had a good taste in movies." He said as he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked out. 'Takimee's mandibles formed a grin at the slightly immature man before shaking his head slightly.

"Oh don't worry about those martial arts spec ops guys, they're just going out because they make it look good, your team gets the job done." Winchester said, returning to the old subject. 'Takimee nodded his thanks and looked to Victoria.

"So how's Abigail?" He asked. Victoria sighed as she thought for a moment.

"Well, last time I saw her she was getting worse. I asked Dr. Winchester about it and…um…" She couldn't really find the right words to say.

"She's suffering from severe depression." Dr. Winchester said for her. "And 'Zukamee just told me this morning about how desperate she's getting for anyone to keep her company. She's so scared of the gangs in the neighborhood, and with that God-awful incident that almost occurred last week, we're really going to get her help."

"'Zukamee told you this?" 'Takimee asked abruptly. Herman nodded. He sighed. "He hasn't been doing so great himself." He said.

"Why's that?" Victoria asked.

"We had no idea he and Ray were exchanging feelings for one another so…" 'Takimee looked at Victoria, who covered her mouth with her hand, then to Winchester, who shook his head sadly. "He's been hurting pretty badly from that."

"Sven why'd you have to leave us…?" Winchester murmured.

"He wouldn't make a difference Doctor." Victoria said softly. "Ray and Michel would still be gone…I'm sure this war would be declining just as it is now."

"Don't say that." Winchester said quickly. "You know we'd feel better if he was still around. You helped raise him." He said as his hand shook. "Besides, he kept our spirits up, by doing what we thought was impossible. And now that he's gone, none of the soldiers think this war has any hope left."

"This war doesn't have any hope left." Victoria snapped. "We've lost billions of lives; we're retreating into the smallest reaches of our planet now, why just four cities fell this morning…what makes you think we have a chance?" She asked as a tear rolled down her cheek. She looked down at her desk, picturing her family, Caleb, her husband, Abigail, everyone, with no hope left. Finally she broke down and sobbed at her desk, and Dr. Winchester was quick to his feet to comfort her. 'Takimee sighed as he stood up straight.

"I'm going to go out…" He muttered coldly and left the two scientists to themselves.

* * *

**Hallo! I hope none of you really mind the darker tones from the previous stories here (At least we have 'Jargomee, 'Kakomee, and Frederick as comic relief) But yeah, survival and desperation were never really a big thing in Abate & Abate2, which I hope to emphasize in Abate3, which I hope to make everything seem more realistic. Well anyway, hope you liked it all and hope to hear from anyone reading.  
**


	6. On the Right Track

**Chapter 6**

_Training Chamber_

For the soldiers who were either guards or off duty, there were games to be played, training games of course. Whether it was a shooting contest, a race around the indoor track, or a game of unpadded tackle football, there was always soldiers looking to take the war off their minds with a good game. Today's big game was, however, paintball. Simulated fighting, that's what was needed, plus the soldiers got to have fun with it. Padded well to extinguish the nasty sting of the paintballs, each soldier was separated into two teams, Red and Blue. Both teams cheered when came in two Evas, one for each team, and both were more than happy to play. Galvin Anderson, Eva-03, and Shinji Ikari, Eva-01, suited up in their actual battle armor, Galvin's was a sleek black that was identical to Eva-04's in design, while Shinji's was probably one of the most original suits to any Eva. With a ceratopsian look to it, some soldiers gave him the inside nickname of 'Triceratops'. With lavender armor and several neon green and orange sections, it would be difficult for him to actually hide, but that was nothing Shinji couldn't make up for in army training. Galvin went on Red team, while Shinji went to Blue, and everyone was handed paintball guns, Red team with red paintballs as Blue team with blue.

The object of the game was to capture the other team's flag, and return it to their base, and to add to the strategy, large objects filled with soft material similar to that of mattresses that returned to their original shape were there. They were used primarily to hide behind and give cover. Each team stood on their respected sides, ten on each team, side-to-side, and they waited what seemed like the longest time. Galvin grinned under his black Eva helmet.

"This will be so easy." He muttered to the off duty ODST beside him. The ODST chuckled and nodded. Meanwhile Shinji's eyes narrowed under his black visor as he leaned over to a Marine at his side.

"They're planning something, so be wary." He said. The Marine nodded as he looked down the court to the other team. Quickly one member from each team had to signal each other to tell the other they were ready, and just as their arms shot up, the soldiers dashed behind cover while a selected one or two from each team stood and fired. Shinji pushed himself back against his cover, his Marine ally sticking close to him. Sounds of paintballs being fired and paint splattered echoed through the hot court. Taking the risk and holding his paint gun in one hand, Eva-01 stood tall over his cover, and fired several shots. He managed to hit one Red as he dashed toward their end smack-dap in the center of his helmet, making him loose automatically. Shinji ducked back behind cover to dodge the wave of paintballs showering over them.

"This is intense." The Marine said with a laugh. "Nothing but harmless fun though."

Meanwhile Eva-03 was in a similar position as his Eva comrade was, stuck behind cover, with his ODST pal with him. The ODST looked down on his red paintball gun, gripped it tightly, and looked up.

"I'm going for it." He said and leaped out from cover. Galvin looked over to see the man be splashed with blue paintball after paintball, and he simulated himself dying by falling to the ground. Everything from the ODST's helmet to the front side of his body armor was covered in bright blue paint. Galvin smiled under his helmet at the friendly fun once he could hear the ODST snickering to himself, and soon enough, the Eva decided to take action. Just as another Red was shot down beside him while trying to retreat, Galvin leaped out from cover and took a mad dash. Narrowly missing blue paintballs, the black-armored Eva caught sight of his greatest threat, a Helljumper who was straight in his path, rifle up and ready. To stun him, Galvin slapped the soldier across his helmet, so that his aim was lost and he was virtually helpless. Helpless he was, as Galvin grabbed his shoulder, hoisted him up, and unloaded several paintballs into the man's gut, before dropping him off to the side and taking off again.

On the Blue side, one of the Blues looked from his cover to Eva-01, who just fired at another Red and got him.

"Yo, Black Eva coming in fast!" He shouted, just before being shot down by said Evangelion. Shinji looked up over his cover to see Galvin running like the wind toward their flag. He grinned under his helmet as the Eva was within feet of their flag, and he pounced. Galvin turned his attention quickly to Shinji, and jumped slightly from the surprise attack. Acting purely on impulse, the Red soldier fired, and Shinji leaped to the side, unable to help his Marine friend as the paintball struck him in the helmet, and he was out.

"Good one Shinj." Galvin said as he fired more from his gun. Eva-01 acted fast to grab Eva-03's wrist and pull up, rendering Galvin's attack useless, and pointed his gun back at him. Again, Eva-03 pulled the same trick on the Blue soldier, and both were tangled in a sticky hold. Thinking quickly, Galvin kicked Shinji away and did a back flip. While in midair, he snatched the Blue flag and landed, before he tossed it to a Red teammate. Unbeknownst to him, was that the Blues were taking the Red flag as well.

"Come on." Eva-01 urged as he raised his gun again.

"Let's do this." Galvin replied as he fired again. Shinji leaped up and landed on one of the soft coverings, but realized it was sinking under his weight fast. Eva-03 joined him on the covering just parallel to Shinji's, and the two fired at each other again. Once they got so low, they jumped off at the exact same time and landed on a much shorter covering, and were now subject to hits from their enemy teams. However, they ignored the paintballs flying around the room, as their visors were connected, and they were determined to take the other one down. Soon enough, each of their paintball guns were out, and each Eva tossed theirs to the ground. Next they leaped toward each other, ready to fight hand to hand. Soldiers from each team stopped, with the exception of those carrying the flags, to watch the two army giants fight in a near martial arts style. Galvin threw a punch toward Shinji's head, who ducked and returned the favor with several swift punches to the black Eva's side. Reacting quickly, Eva-03 grabbed his opponent's shoulders and kneed him in the face several times before he shoved him away. Eva-01 to a moment to rethink, before he launched forward with his purple boot first, but again his opponent reacted much better. Grabbing Shinji's ankle, Galvin spun him around and around, making sure to get his enemy dizzy before he was before he threw him toward the wall.

Repositioning himself in midair, Shinji planted his feet right onto the wall, and used it to his advantage as he pushed himself off with tremendous force. Galvin's eyes widened under his helmet as Eva-01 crashed into him, and soon pinned him. Just before the Red soldier made it back to his side, the last Blue soldier popped out from behind a corner and shot him straight in his visor, making the Reds lose as the Red flag was taken successfully to the Blue side. Covered in red paint, all the Blue soldiers got up and cheered as the Reds got up and laughed at the fun they just had.

"Gotcha." Shinji said with a grin under his helmet. Galvin chuckled.

"Good one." He replied. Shinji got up and held his hand out, which the other Eva took graciously to assist him from the ground. "Another round?" The black-armored Eva scooped up his paint ball gun and slung it over his shoulder.

"You know it."

* * *

_Committee Boardroom_

Lighting up an expensive cigar, a large bald man looked down from the several men seated on both sides of an elongated desk and onto a stack of files. Wearing a fine black suit with thin white stripes on it, this man was none other than Bill Kingsley, head of the Committee and therefore one of the leaders against the Abater conflict.

"What is this?" He asked. His voice was muffled thanks to the cigar that hung from the side of his mouth. Out of the twelve or so people seated at the desk, half were part of the regrouping UN, who sought out to take Kingsley down from his position thanks to tips from many personnel.

"They're files of personnel complaints on how you run your operations sir." The UN representative of Europe, Jack Andreavich said with a cold voice. Committee members flashed their glances angrily around to the UN members, all of whom held their heads high.

"High mortality rate, lack of interest, lack of supplies, how could anyone possibly think we'd have enough for this?" Kingsley hissed as he glanced through the list.

"We're not sure Mr. Kingsley, but that suit you have on, that cigar in your mouth, and probably the hundred other suits you have at home could help a lot of people." Said the Asian representative, Kim Wong in her soft yet stern voice. Kingsley chuckled to himself, before he looked up at the UN members.

"You can't be serious about this?" He laughed a bit more, before his smile turned into a savage scowl. "I built this Committee and have saved millions of lives since this damned war started."

"Try tens of thousands…" The African ambassador, Raha Appel said grimly.

"What?" The Committee headman asked. The North American delegate, a brown-haired man with grey streaks through his hair sighed. His name was Ken Turner.

"We received word just awhile ago that four more cities have been taken. Their shields were not destroyed, and no signs of Abaters or Brutes. It's just like they just crawled out from underneath." He said.

"And one is fighting for survival as we speak." The Mr. Appel added. Kingsley's eyes shifted from one UN member to the next.

"And…what do you want me to do about this?" He inquired.

"We want you to step down from your seat Kingsley, so that the UN can return to power." Mr. Andreavich said. "We're going to give the soldiers back their will to fight, like they did before you tossed away Eva and Spartan soldiers like they were nothing."

"You…" Kingsley growled as he stood up. "You can't do this!" He boomed. He pulled the cigar from his mouth and snuffed the ember out on the complaint files. "I brought this organization power; I've tried helping as many people as I could…"

"If you really cared about people Kingsley," The Ms. Wong began. "You'd back down and allow us to handle it." Everyone turned to the doorway with the exception of the UN members as Commander 'Takimee walked in, with two soldiers in UN uniforms escorting him.

"You called?" The Elite asked.

"Yes, just on time." The Mr. Andreavich said with a grin. "You may take away Kingsley now."

"You can't do this!" Kingsley cried when the two UN soldiers grabbed a hold of him. Struggling to keep the large man under control, the soldiers carried the Committee headman off and out of the room. 'Takimee watched with wide and excited eyes as he was passed through the doorway, and the Committee members were excused. "You damn Elite!" He shouted through the door, but everyone seemed to ignore it.

"Please now, Commander, sit down." Said Mr. Turner as he offered as seat where Kingsley once sat. Cautiously doing so as to not offend anyone in any manner, 'Takimee looked down on the files covered with cigar ash. He opened the file up slightly, glancing at the complaints of employees before he heard Kim Wong's voice.

"We understand that Kingsley put you out of service." She said. 'Takimee closed the file slowly, looked up, and nodded.

"Yes." He replied. With a humble smile on his face, Mr. Andreavich wrote on a piece of paper, and slid it down the smooth wood of the desk.

"Well Mr. 'Takimee, you are officially put back into service, as our head spec ops team." He announced. The Elite looked at the piece of paper, which was an official UN form, assigned 'Takimee and his team to take care of the most secretive and most important missions. Honored, the spec ops commander bowed his head and thanked them.

"Oh no need to thank us Commander, ever since the Fair Oaks incident, we've watched how overlooked you and those in the incident have been." Mr. Turner replied. "Oh and if you could, would it bother you at all to call in Dr. Winchester and Frederick MacDonald?" Knowing that they were about to receive the praise they deserved, 'Takimee smiled brightly, and nodded.

"Yes sir." For the first time since he began his service for humanity, 'Takimee felt like they were going to be heading in the right direction.

* * *

**Alright, so Kingsley's down and out (?) how can the UN clear up any future problems with the war? Well, I guess you'll have to find out later, and I'll try my best to update at the very least once a week, since I'm juggling school, homework, cross country, work, and a social life at once. Hope you look forward to more!**


	7. I don't think Tartarus likes RAAM

**Chapter 7**

_Lounge Area_

"Wow, did you just see that roundhouse kick to that guy's face?" 'Jargomee asked with a full blown case of the laughs.

"Man, this Chuck Norris human is awesome!" 'Kakomee said and laughed. 'Verimee was smiling as he watched contently, the scripting for Walker Texas Ranger was awful he thought, but how Chuck Norris beat bad guys up just made him smile. Suddenly the doors opened, and four figures walked in. Three Evas and one old fashioned Spartan, Kroenen led the team of three Evas in, but slowly turned his head toward the commotion the Elites were making.

"Just what the hell are you doing?" A red-armored Eva asked as she approached. Her name was Alexis Langley Swans, Eva-02 and leader of the German Eva group. Hugo and Bethany where right behind her, their armor colors were green and pink, respectfully.

"Do you know who Chuck Norris is?" 'Kakomee asked. Alexis frowned under her helmet.

"Duh, who doesn't know who he is?" She snapped.

"Just about the biggest BADass around." 'Jargomee replied.

"I didn't think they'd like him. I don't." Bethany stated. Hugo crossed his arms and looked to her.

"Yeah well you wouldn't." He grumbled. Kroenen flipped his heavy trench coat back slightly, as he clasped his hands behind his back and watched the man with red hair and red beard, wearing a cowboy hat; kick a criminal in the stomach before performing a roundhouse kick to another. That's when 'Takimee opened the doors.

"Boys you won't…ah, hello Mr. Kroenen." The commander said as he nearly ran into the cyborg. Kroenen nodded his acknowledgement and looked back to the television. "Still Willem Dafoe?" 'Takimee asked as he walked up behind the couch, now hovering over his men.

"Nope, someone even better." 'Jargomee replied. "Chuck Norris." He downed another Mountain Dew bottle.

"I'll admit it Commander, your boys have an excellent taste in movies." Fred said as he appeared from around the corner, having just gone to the restroom.

"Oh, the UN's looking for you." 'Takimee said.

"Hmm? The UN?" Fred asked.

"Mmm-hmm, the Committee's fallen." The Elite said with a grin. "And the UN's returning me, you, and Dr. Winchester to our old positions." Fred smiled brightly.

"Well happy day, I'll go now, see you guys later." He said as he rushed off to get his job back.

"Eh…" 'Kakomee mumbled as an excuse for his goodbye.

"Anyway, we're back in business men." 'Takimee announced. 'Jargomee and 'Kakomee mumbled things but it was obvious their attention was planted on the TV. 'Verimee, however, looked up and smiled at the commander, showing him that this pleased him. "I should go tell 'Zukamee." The commander said and began to walk away. "Oh, Alexis, what brings you and your team here?" Suddenly the alarm sounded. Eva-02 looked up, spotted the red light spinning around and around, and pointed to it.

"That."

* * *

_Outside_

Abigail peaked through her curtains to the streets below, just as two gangsters exited a building with wads of cash in their hands. One concealed his weapon in his jacket before he counted his gain, and tossed the keys to his car to his partner.

"Hey man, wanna listen to some tunes here?" His partner asked. The gangster seemed to be too busy with his money.

"Yeah, yeah whatever just turn it on." He said. "Oh and count how much you made." With an eager laugh the man turned on their modified car, and blared out their rap music. Abigail covered her ears from what she thought was horrible music and closed the curtain. Suddenly she heard a rumble, and the light above her swayed side to side slightly. The dark-haired girl looked back out the window, to see what was happening. "Yo what the hell was that?" One of the gangsters asked.

"It was prob'ly nuttin'." The first gangster replied with a bit of frustration in his voice. Again a rumble came on, only this time it was more intense, so intense that plates and glasses from Abigail's cabinets shot out and crashed on the floor. The young woman turned to see the mess in the kitchen, and sighed. "Yo just what the hell did _that_?" The hooligan asked.

"That's what I was talkin' about but…" Suddenly the gangster was cut off when a massive hole was blasted open from underground in the middle of the street. Abigail heard this, and jumped back to her window to see what it was. People walked out from their homes to see what had happened, and many gasped at the large hole in the middle of the street. "Y-yo man…" One of the men stammered. A moment of intense silence passed, before humanoid shapes crawled up from it, making disgusting gurgling noises and growls as they stood up. Humanoid in appearance, each creature was pale with very scaly skin, and very thick hides. Armored, each creature raised their rifle-like weapons and slaughtered the two gangsters on the sidewalk. Screaming, people ran inside, but not before more of the creatures appeared from similar holes created in the streets and taking out more people.

Abigail's eyes widened as she shut the curtain and backed away; unable to be sure that she just saw what she saw. After awhile she began to hear them running up the metal stairs and breaking into the rooms of people. Three or four rooms away she could hear screaming that went to an abrupt halt as she knew a massive slaughter was going on. Unable to neither hide, nor wanting to hide, Abigail stood where she was, waiting for her door to be smashed and broken in, before the reptilian humanoids could come for her. It didn't take long until she could smell their awful stench, and she swallowed the scared lump in her throat, making a slow step backward. A fist broke through the door with ease, and opened a larger hole, one in which the beast could stare with its frightening gaze at Abigail. Mouth gaping and wanting to bite into the young woman's flesh, the creature growled and hissed as he nearly taunted the frightened girl with its appearance.

From the howls of the monsters came a familiar sound, the sound of an assault rifle being fired. The monster in Abigail's doorway looked over toward the stairs just in time for a flurry of bullets to shower down on it, before it was taken down. Abigail's eyes brightened as a relieved sigh came from her.

"Thank you Sven…" She whispered and imagined the Spartan. She could see him breaking in her door, nodding to her, and offering her his hand to save her. Just as a tear rolled down one of her pale cheeks, someone did in fact break in the door, but it wasn't the Chief.

"Abigail, come on." 'Zukamee said and offered her his hand.

"'Zukamee?" The girl panted.

"Come on!" The Elite cried as he snatched her hand. He ran her out of the apartment and turned to run down the stairs, but unfortunately more creatures were running up the stairs after them. He looked to Abigail, and nodded. "Hold on tightly." He said softly as he picked the young woman up and slung her over his shoulder. Just as the creatures made it to the top of the stairs and just meters away from 'Zukamee and Abigail, one of them pointed at the two.

"Kill them." It ordered. The other creatures opened fire with their rifles, but the Elite leaped onto the railing and down to the ground. Landing with a grunt, 'Zukamee let Abigail down.

"Are you okay?" She asked when she noticed his limp.

"It's nothing compared to what these creatures will do, come along." He said took off toward the base. Abigail followed quickly, but was afraid that she wasn't fast enough to keep up with 'Zukamee's long strides, and with her dress on, it didn't help. After running a few blocks and trying their best to ignore the slaughtering occurring around them, Abigail tripped on her dress and fell onto the concrete. 'Zukamee turned. "Abigail!" He shouted as he dashed and helped her to her feet. The girl had a cut on the cheek that she landed on, thanks to the gravel on top of the concrete. "Come on, we have to get back to the…" The Elite turned but stopped in his sentence when he spotted a giant among the beasts. Wearing a black armored trench coat, the giant lumbered toward them, ordering its soldiers to back off his prize.

"'Zukamee…?" Abigail whimpered.

"Don't worry." The Elite replied as he slowly raised his assault rifle. Suddenly one of the beasts fired first and shot his wrist, making him drop his weapon. It wasn't too long before the giant stopped before them, his cold eyes set upon them, and his sharp teeth formed a disgusted scowl. 'Zukamee looked back up into the being's eyes, to show him he was not afraid. He slowly touched Abigail's hand. "Get behind me." He whispered. Shakily the girl did so, as her terrified eyes looked up at the giant before them.

"What are you?" The giant growled. The being and his fellow species had to be some of the most muscular creatures the Elite and human had ever seen, more so than even Brutes. "You are no human." That's when he grunted, and both the Elite and human could smell his awful breath, which smelled like a rotting corpse. He pointed to Abigail and grunted again, and two of the creatures stepped forward and grabbed her. Trying her best not to scream, the young woman's fear was still apparent at her shaking arms, and her glazed eyes that looked to the ground desperately. The two beasts released her, and the leader grabbed Abigail with his massive hand. One was easily capable of crushing her head, but instead, he grabbed her throat and hoisted her up some three and a half feet off her feet to come face to face with him, all the while trying not to break into fearful tears.

"Hey let her go!" 'Zukamee protested as he lunged forward. One of the creatures punched him along his jaw, and brought him down. He landed onto the gravel, which cut up his hands slightly, but nothing that was too bad, when he looked up, one of the menaces placed its boot on him and pushed him to the ground, crippling his movement.

"For the queen!" The leader boomed as he unsheathed an ornate and highly detailed blade from his trench coat. "Perish to the Locust Horde!" Abigail finally screamed as the leader readied to impale her when a lone bullet found its way to the Locust closest to him, and bounced off his armor and thick hide. The Locusts snarled and roared as they searched for the attacker, and the leader halted his attack. Thunder boomed overhead as the Locusts continued to look around, weapons posed and ready to fire…then the shields went down. A growl escaped the leader's lipless mouth as he looked to the heavens, feeling a few sprinkles of rain touch his scaly skin for one of the first times in his life. However, he ignored it, as did his Locust soldiers. An echoing boom was heard overhead, as an enemy Phantom swooped in, followed by Banshees and Seraphs, and soon, human Longswords, Pelicans, and Shortswords appeared in order to fight them overhead. The Locust Horde looked up in awe at the vesicles as they danced in deadly tangos in the heavens, and some were engulfed in fantastic explosions followed by burning metal showering down. A downpour soon followed, alongside lightning brightening up the dull sky for mere milliseconds, before their thunderous roar took place.

"Abaters…" 'Zukamee murmured. The Locust leader looked around just in time for a Phantom to land on the other side of the block. From the roof of one building a shadowy figure leaped down, and landed beside 'Zukamee. Kroenen stood up tall as he ignored the Locusts snarling and growling at him, and his blank visors stared at the leader.

"Chieftain what is the meaning of this? What are those?" The Prophet o Truth asked as he looked out from his Phantom via a surveillance camera on the ship's side.

"We're in enemy heat!" Regret snapped. Tartarus grunted.

"Should've said something before we landed." He muttered to himself. He grabbed his Fist of Rukt and nodded to two well-armored Brutes, Honor Guards in fact, and turned to the Prophets. "Noble Hierarchs, if it worries you, I shall dispose of the pests you see before you. And I, Tartarus, Chieftain of the Brutes, shall give you a most satisfactory performance." Truth stroked his chin.

"I'm not sure Tartarus, we cannot risk losing you." He said.

"Bah!" Regret said with a wave of his hand. "Let him pretend to be young again." Tartarus grinned.

"Thank you Noble Hierarch."

With the arrival of Kroenen, the death of Abigail at his fingertips, and a sudden Brute invasion, the Locust leader was very confused, but retained his calm by looking into Abigail's watering eyes. The fear of the creatures he loathed so much gave him strength. He chuckled sinisterly when his Locust brethren turned their attention to three Brutes descending from the Phantom. The Locusts moved to their respective sides to allow their leader to see the new threats. Ignoring Kroenen, who was still staring him down, the leader tossed Abigail away and turned toward the Brutes. Abigail landed in dirt, and as Kroenen cautiously bent down to help her, Locusts snarled at him not to do so, and did the same when Abigail tried to get up. Simply, neither 'Zukamee nor Abigail moved, Kroenen did however. The reason why he didn't help Abigail was because he would let his guard down, a deadly mistake he learned while working with Nazis. Meanwhile Tartarus grunted.

"Who are these fools?" He asked to the Honor Guard to his side, who looked up.

"Explain yourselves!" The Honor Guard boomed. The Locust leader to a step forward, which caused a crunching sound thanks to the gravel under his boot.

"I am RAAM." He said in his gruff voice.

"I am Tartarus, Chieftain of the Brutes!" The albino Brute said proudly as he held his weapon slightly higher. "Friend or foe?" He asked. RAAM's eyes narrowed, this was his chance to strike. Instead of saying anything, he pointed toward the Brutes, and his men opened fire. Fortunately for the honor Guards, their armor was especially tough and could withstand much damage, but Tartarus hardly wore any. To compensate, the two Honor Guards jumped in front of their leader, shielding him from damage.

"I never thought I'd be happy to see Brutes." 'Zukamee sighed.

"Attack!" Tartarus boomed. His two Brutes dashed forward, with their leader close behind. Using their strength, the two Honor Guards pummeled through Locusts, while Tartarus easily smashed his enemies with his Fist of Rukt. As he kicked one Locust away, Tartarus looked down, spotting a tear-soaked and dirt-covered Abigail, his red eyes widened. "You…" He muttered as he reached for her. That's when Kroenen intervened, and tried to punch the Brute. Reacting much better, Tartarus gave the cyborg an uppercut that sent the frail Nazi up in the air, and landing the center of a mob of Locusts. 'Zukamee finally got up since the Locust containing him was busy fighting, and grabbed Abigail before Tartarus could.

"You're not harming anyone but these Locusts Tartarus." The Elite boomed as he held Abigail tightly. Tartarus glared at the spec ops soldier, grunted, and chuckled.

"Have it your way." He replied. That's when RAAM appeared behind him with his blade, and gave the Brute a large slash mark across his back. Tartarus boomed out in pain, before he turned and shoved the head of his hammer into RAAM's chest. Exploding on impact, the Locust General was hurled several meters before skidding to a stop, having never lost his balance. Ignoring his Honor Guards as they were soon overwhelmed and killed by the Locusts, Tartarus marched toward RAAM, and stopped, when a near perfect arena for the two was created. As the Locusts turned toward the chieftain, RAAM brought his massive hand up.

"No, it's between us." The sinister being growled. The Locusts turned their attention toward 'Zukamee and Abigail, and just as the frightening beasts closed in, Kroenen leaped up from the crowd of monsters and landed next to the Elite and human. The Locusts growled at who they thought they pummeled to death three times or more, but refused to die. Slowly reaching under his heavy trench coat, the cyborg pulled out two tonfas. Unlike regular tonfas, which were made of wood, these weapons had a handle, then the rest was a long blade. Casually getting them comfortable in his grip, it seemed to take him forever to get ready.

"Bah! Let me kill this…" A Locust soldier shouted. But he couldn't finish his sentence before Kroenen had split his skull with one of his tonfas in a quick blur of a cut. Next he rolled his head from one shoulder to the next, managing to pop it as he took a few steps toward the center of the clearing. Tonfas spinning skillfully in his hands, the Locusts didn't know whether to attack or watch as the Nazi cyborg came to an abrupt halt, along with his spinning weapons, that stopped in a blink of an eye. Howling out, the Locusts opened fire on Kroenen, who went back to spin his tonfas skillfully. Without so much as a grunt, the Nazi spun on his heel, slicing each rifle apart that was too close with a clean cut.

"Kill him!" A Locust boomed as all of them diverted their attention from the Elite and human to the cyborg. Like he was made from feathers, Kroenen performed a back flip through the air, landing on the shoulders of one Locust before he drove one of his blades into its cranium, and leaping off to another. The menaces roared as they tried to grab the Nazi cyborg, but it was all too clear he was far swifter than their large hands could grab at. It all came back to a certain Abater's philosophy that was demolished by Grievous that strength gets speed every time. Kroenen suddenly looked up when the Locusts began to leap high into the air, some possibly even made it to fifteen feet. Jumping from the shoulders of his next kill, the cyborg planted his feet onto one Locust falling, jabbed a blade into its gut, before he jumped to the next one falling, and did the same. As he planted his feet one's chest, Kroenen looked up and saw they had laid out a trap, as one as falling toward him. He thrust his arm back, and heaved one tonfa into the air. Locusts as well as 'Zukamee and Abigail widened their eyes as they tonfa sliced clean through the Locust, hide, bone and all. Kroenen landed with cat-like grace on his feet, and didn't budge as a shower of dead Locust soldiers landed around him. He held his hand out, and caught his tonfa without even a glance up.

Meanwhile Tartarus and RAAM were busy fighting their own way. The mighty Fist of Rukt swung one way, and the Locust general stumbled back to avoid it. His opponent's guard down, RAAM lunged forward and punched Tartarus in the jaw, which was enough to get the Brute dizzy. With an angry growl, the Brute Chieftain punched the Locust away. RAAM stumbled back again, before he brought his blade up and charged. Tartarus chuckled.

"My weapon beats yours…" He sneered as he brought the Fist of Rukt around again. With a deafening boom the hammer struck RAAM and an explosion occurred, sending the Locust general reeling across the ground. Finally skidding to a stop, RAAM slowly got to his feet.

"That weapon…" He muttered to himself. Tartarus chuckled again in self-pride.

"Excellent work General, you know only one of my enemies has ever survived that blast. I suppose you'll go on that list next." He said, referring to the Spartan. RAAM turned, looking up with harsh eyes at the Brute. He glanced over to where his men were, and saw how Kroenen continued to toy with them all, then looked toward Tartarus again.

"We'll meet again…" He growled before he approached the massive Locust hole he entered with. He looked to his men, who somehow knew, even without eye contact, to retreat. Locusts swarmed down the holes, and before Tartarus or Kroenen could chase them down into the earth, the holes were packed thick with rocks, making it seem that they had never even been there. Kroenen looked up, and readied his tonfas.

"Not today human…we're leave." Tartarus growled as he walked toward his Phantom. Kroenen watched him warily as he left, and the ship took off, out of sight. The Nazi cyborg returned to 'Zukamee and Abigail, as they were beginning their journey home. From around a corner, 'Takimee and his spec ops men appeared.

"'Zukamee, what are you doing here?" He asked. "Were…were you able to defend yourself against them?"

"No sir, Kroenen could." The spec ops soldier replied. "I came to get Abigail." 'Takimee slung his rifle over his shoulder.

"It was brave 'Zukamee, but also foolish, you should've waited for us." He said and nodded toward the base. "Come on, let's get you inside." Kroenen, Abigail, and 'Zukamee nodded their thanks as they followed the spec ops team. 'Jargomee and 'Kakomee were no longer musing over Chuck Norris, as they looked like model soldiers once more, and more soldiers appeared from every corner they passed. They were all trying to figure out why the Locust Horde had retreated, after such a successful attack as well. 'Zukamee didn't care, he just cared everyone was safe…for now.

* * *

**Too short and sweet of a fight? Don't worry, I do plan on RAAM and Tartarus meeting several more times, I just wanted them to 'get to know' each other first. Yeah, I think I'm getting better at this updating business, but I've been up over my head in stuff to do, school, the musical (I'm the only main character one who doesn't sing sweet!) work, cross country and whatnot. Funny story for you 300 fans, I ran at this town Thursday, my teammate and I were in front, with everyone behind us, when I look over and said 'Hey Zach, this is madness' then he cried 'THIS IS SPARTA!!', yeah, we felt more like badasses than losers. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter and look forward to more.**


	8. God? Beginners? Eva04? what?

**Chapter 8**

_Fair Oaks Village_

Sven slowly opened his eyes, and stared up at the blank white ceiling. His muscles ached when he tried to move them, so instead he looked around the room. Someone sat at his bedside, and Sven's heart raced as he hoped it was Abigail, and he was just waking up from the Tank attack. However, it wasn't, it was Hanna, whose seemingly unblinking violet eyes looked down on him. Compared to Abigail, the Chief thought Hanna seemed so opposite. Sure they may have shared similar colored hair, and pale skin, but where Abigail's smile was for Hanna, was a blank expression. It was almost as if she didn't want to smile at all.

"Welcome back." She said in a soft voice. That's when everything about the Brutes, Abaters, Tusk, the village, Eva-04, and Scar all came back to the Master Chief. He fought his aching neck and nodded. "You don't talk much…do you?" She asked. As a bit of a joke, the Spartan didn't reply. "I'll bring you something to eat." She said, stood up, and exited the room. Fighting the stinging pain in his body, the Master Chief brought an arm up to examine it. He noticed immediately how his emerald color was nearly gone, with only a few pieces that hadn't been chipped off, and left with a dull grey color. With a painful grunt he sat up and planted his feet onto the ground.

_"That hammer always takes it out of me…" _He thought as he struggled to stand up. Having to deal with it so many times, the Master Chief actually hated the Fist of Rukt with a passion, and then swore to himself, the next time he saw Tartarus, he was going to break that damned hammer. Walking with a painful limp, the Spartan walked to the doorway, where he looked to his right, two more rooms and a bathroom, then to his left were the stairs downstairs. On the first floor he could hear the Abater laughing at jokes they made at one another or something humorous one of them saw on a scouting trip, as well as Penitent Tangent offering his assistance to Hanna, using large and sophisticated words to get his point across. If he weren't so sore, the Spartan highly considered going downstairs and taking out the Abaters, especially Scar, but then he retained his conscious and thought of better reasons not to. Stumbling over, the Chief caught himself by shooting out a hand and pushing himself away from the wall. Slowly he began to walk toward the stairs.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" The low voice of Eva-04 asked. Looking over his shoulder, the Spartan could see the Eva standing at the end of the hall.

_"Shouldn't you stop sneaking up on people?" _Sven thought as he stared blankly with his visor at him. Eva-04 crossed his arms and chuckled, his unbolted jaw filled with human-like teeth jumped up and down.

_"It's what I do." _His thoughts echoed in Sven's mind. The Master Chief jumped as he turned his whole body toward the AI. "Correct, I can and _will_ read your mind Sven. It's a gift we AI have." He took a step forward and uncrossed his arms. "Now then, do you still have the cross and skull?" He asked. The Master Chief nodded as he looked into the ammo pouch to make certain. Sure enough, the bird skull and Christian cross were inside, unharmed by the earlier activities. "Now then," He held up a glass vial with a few drops of blood in it. "Take this, and smear it on the bird skull." Limping down the hall, the Master Chief took the vial, then he brought up the bird skull, popped the lip off of the vial, and dripped the few drops of blood onto the skull. When the blood was gone, the Chief's visor looked up at the Eva.

"Now what?" He asked. Eva-04 held his hand out.

"Hand me the cross." He said. The Spartan did so, and dropped the small cross in the AI's hand. Nodding his thanks, the silver being had Sven cup the blooded bird skull in his hands, and held the cross over it with a gentle relaxed grip on it. The Eva's eyes flashed brightly, and soon, the cross did too. In a blinding flash of light, the bird skull in the Spartan's hands was transforming. Meanwhile Hanna was walking up the stairs with silent footsteps, a tray of fresh bread and a glass of milk on it when she looked up, her eyes wide at the light at the end of the hall. "Now look…" Eva-04 said softly as he took the cross away, and the light died down. Sven looked down, and his eyes widened. In his hands, where the bird skull once was, was now a full grown blue jay. Its blue feathers, the most gorgeous of any bird he had ever seen, ruffled as the bird chirped up at the Spartan, singing a beautiful melody for him. "This blue jay is nearly the last of its kind Sven…just like you are." The AI added. "Go on, pet it, it's not scared of you." He urged. Cautiously the Master Chief brought a hand up, and gently stroked the blue jay's perfect crest, at which the bird cooed contently from.

"Wait…" The Spartan muttered. "Was…was this all you had me go on this quest for?" He asked.

"Technically yes." Eva-04 replied coldly as he crossed his arms again.

"I…I thought I was going to help fight in this war…" The Master Chief persisted.

"You have Spartan…" The AI said as he came eye-to-eye with him. "The Abaters are on your side now…are they not?"

"But…you…you tore me from the others…" Sven said weakly as he took a painful step back.

"Now, now Spartan this was merely a test." Eva-04 said casually.

"For what?" The Spartan asked.

"Your loyalty." The AI replied. "I needed to know." By now, the Master Chief was far beyond his limit. Taken from people he cared about, living in the wilderness for nearly a month, and nearly dying in a close to pointless fight, and for what? A blue jay? Taking in deep breaths, the Spartan looked down on the blue jay again, feeling as though he was going to be mad at it for making him do this, but when he saw it, staring back up at him with its beady eyes, he relaxed. Eva-04 forced a slight chuckle. "There you go, relax. The last thing we need you doing is going berserk. Go now, rest, Ms. Frost has a meal prepared for you." He said. The Master Chief turned to see Hanna at the edge of the stairs, staring wide-eyed at them, and swallowing the nervous lump in her throat. Nodding to Eva-04, the Spartan did as he was told and returned to the small room was resting in. The Eva waited for Hanna to walk into Sven's room before he decided to walk downstairs, but before he just made it to the staircase; he paused, upon hearing Hanna.

"Is there much more to this war than we think?" She asked as she set the tray down on the table by the Chief's bed.

"I suppose…I have much to explain." Eva-04 said as he entered the room. "Please, sit." He said and motioned to the bed. Hanna did so, sitting next to the Spartan, looking at the reborn blue jay, and back up the AI. The silver being sighed as he clasped his hands behind his back and shook his head.

"Sven, this war isn't just about new territory, more resources, and whatnot, and that's where so many species were manipulated at." The Eva began. "The Prophets had brainwashed the Abaters into thinking new planets for resources was their destiny, in an attempt to collect all the Monitors of every race. You see, this whole thing was for the Prophets to perform their ultimate salvation, Instrumentality."

"What's that? Instrumentality?" The Master Chief asked. Eva-04 stroked his metallic chin.

"How can I explain this…?" He pondered. "Ah. Say you are playing a guitar, Hanna plays a flute, Scar a tuba, and Tusk plays a piano. One at a time you play your own tune, you are alone, and this represents individuality. Next, put the four of you together, play the same tune, and you become a single entity."

"Yes…? Still what does this…?" The Master Chief was cut off when Eva-04 shot a hand up.

"I wasn't finished." He retorted. "As I was saying, Instrumentality, or at least the term the Prophets are using, is a way to blend all the individual races into one entity, get rid of sin, and force evolution."

"That…doesn't much sense." The Spartan replied. To agree, Hanna nodded slightly. The Eva's red eyes narrowed.

"How do you think God was created?" He snapped. "Instrumentality was the path the Beginners chose, and now, without an avatar, as a single, bodiless entity, the Beginners combined their entire race, and became the God your race worships and other deities to other species." He straightened his posture. "If the Prophets were to do such a thing, it would be exactly what the Beginners _didn't _want to happen. They foresaw all this, the war; they even know how it ends…that's why AI like the Monitors, Michel, Ray, and myself were created. To stop the Prophets from succeeding."

"I don't believe this…" Sven murmured to himself.

"Why? Because you refuse to believe in God?" Eva-04 snapped. The Spartan's helmet shot up, his golden visor locking onto the Eva's ruby red eyes. "It's obvious you fight for nothing. Your superiors with the exception of those who raised you think of you as nothing more than a mutt, bred to fight, when told to do so, you do it." His eyes narrowed. "And your faithlessness has contributed greatly to it." The Master Chief knew he was right, and a flashback occurred in his mind. It was way back when he was knew to being a Spartan, when he and Michel were near best friends, and…Princess Susan was alive. Her words echoed in his head, and gave him an aching pain in his heart he had hoped long ago to never feel again.

_"If God does exist, he'll watch over us, we'll win this war with him."_ The blonde-haired beauty of Sven's dreams said over and over in his head. He replayed the entire scene in his head, until soon he felt like he was there; sitting on the log with Susan and Michel, watching the sunset, back when the war didn't seem so pointless.

"You miss them all don't you?" Eva-04 asked softly. The Master Chief merely nodded, ignoring the cheerful calls the blue jay gave him. The Eva forced a chuckle as his eyes flashed. "Soon enough my friend…soon enough."

**Just a short interlude kind of thing. Not a whole lot to say this time around so I guess I'll see you guys in less than a week! (missed my last deadline)**


	9. From Russia with Love

Chapter 9

_Moscow-02_

_Bolshoi Theatre_

Snow floated down on the shielded city of Moscow-02, which surprisingly hadn't seen any action from enemy forces since the Scarab incident. With such a long time of calm and serenity, people there were said to be the most optimistic about the war, and with good reason too. Russia's president, Dimitri Abelev, was a magnificent speaker and role model, bringing the country a sense of hope ever since he took office, and General Vassili Rykov was often seen right beside him for the past few weeks. Dimitri was always well groomed, with his finely combed brown hair, as well as his mustache and beard, and cleanliness was always something he took to heart. General Rykov's grey hair was combed back, and a few traces of his dark hair remained there, but his dark bushy eyebrows could also grab one's attention quickly when meeting him, who already had a surprising physical appearance for someone his age.

The President and his family were enjoying a classical ballet, _The Nutcracker_, since it was nearing December. Together they sat in the center balcony, able to see everything clearly. Dimitri's family consisted of his wife, Helga, his son, Sacha, and his daughter, Natasha, and they were altogether a much liked family, even if they no longer really held power. Rykov was watching the dancers perform to the beautiful classical music when he felt someone tap on his shoulder. Shifting his dark eyes over, the general saw Dimitri as he leaned toward him and asked in his ear.

"How do you think Michel would've liked this?" He asked. Ever since Michel had died, the Abelev family mourned him, Natasha the most, but soon enough they figured that Michel was far too cheerful to keep such sad feelings toward for long. In fact, the Abelev family even managed to get a hold of Michel's old Spartan suit, which thankfully wasn't remolded into an Eva suit like other Spartan suits were.

"He would've." Rykov replied as he crossed his legs. The general slowly looked over to Natasha, who was the worst off when told of Mr. Kreigler's demise. Surprisingly she was enjoying the play, her mind seemingly away from Abaters, war, and Michel.

* * *

_President's Mansion_

Since the Scarab attack, part of the Abelev home was lost, but thankfully enough of it was still able to support the family. The broken down part was torn down and new walls were set up to create a new home for the family. Half as large as the original mansion, it was still more than enough to accommodate the Abelevs, and they were surely glad it could. In the main room however, where one enters the house and has the option of continuing further or going up the stairs, stood a tall being. Its armor a dark green color, the visor on its helmet glowed a perfect gold, just like the day it was made. It was in fact the armor of the late Michel Kreigler, its Spartan-I code number imprinted on the back inside of the helmet. It stood like how many rich people have suits of armor in their home, but there was a plate at its feet, and the Russian words on it showed it served the same purpose as a gargoyle, to protect the family. As it did ever since it came, it stood tall, silent, and looking like a brave knight ready to protect the Abelev family from any intruders to their home.

Suddenly a wind blew outside of the house, not a harsh wind, but enough to create an echoing cry. It was an eerie wind…something like the author Edgar Allen Poe would write his dark poems about. Then the lights went out, and it was obvious something was in the house. Despite the creepy setting, the presence itself seemed far from it, as soft footsteps approached the hanging suit of armor. Then, a joyous call came from a familiar voice.

"Oh my, I haven't worn this for quite some time! I'm sure the Abelevs wouldn't mind if I borrowed it…" A silent moment passed. "On second thought, why don't I ask them myself?"

* * *

Later that night, Rykov received word that New Paris had been attacked by an unknown threat. Thankfully it was just as the ballet was getting over so that he wouldn't disturb the President's family. Without alerting Dimitri, the general tried to sneak away to do some research into it, when he friend placed his hand on his shoulder. 

"Where are you going my friend? We're actually thinking about taking the long way home." Dimitri said with a kind smile. Rykov shrugged the hand off and turned to the president.

"Mr. President, New Paris was attacked earlier today." He said. This caught the attention of Dimitri's family.

"New Paris? Attacked? But they were shielded." Sacha said as he took a step forward.

"That's what concerns me." Rykov replied as they stepped outside. "They said the threat attacked from underground. Apparently four cities just prior to the attack fell to the same thing."

"Hmm, odd." Dimitri said as he put on his hat. "Do you think the Abaters could've…"

"The other thing, my resource tells me eyewitness accounts say the threat isn't very Abater-like." Rykov added.

"Meaning?" Helga asked.

"This may be a new threat altogether." The general said grimly. Dimitri's friendly face quickly transformed back into one similar to when he was a soldier himself, hard and focused, as he zipped up his coat.

"Come on, let's get home then." He said.

Unlocking the door and walking in, Dimitri stopped in his doorway at the darkness that enveloped his home. The others paused for a moment, wondering what was wrong. Rykov had returned to his hotel room, ready to do research on the attacks via his laptop, as President Abelev was planning to do as well.

"What is it dear?" Helga asked as she walked up and attempted to walk inside. Dimitri was quick to throw his arm out and stop her from advancing in. "What?" She whispered.

"Someone's here." Dimitri murmured back. Natasha shivered once, frightened by the thought of someone waiting for them in their home, ready to get them off guard. One of her bigger fears in life was just this; ever since her father had gotten into such positions like president and vice president before that, she was afraid of someone assassinating her father, or maybe even their whole family. "I'll go in first…" The president whispered as he brought his fists up and cautiously walked in. Reaching for the umbrella stand beside the doorway, Dimitri grabbed his great-grandfather's honorary sword for his military position. He kept the sword in the umbrella stand just for this reason, otherwise he would have been honored to hang the sword on the wall.

"Oh, here's the light." Helga sighed and flipped the switch. The lights turned on and a figure stood before the Spartan armor, waiting for them. Everyone jumped and screamed as Dimitri swung his sword through the air. The tip of the sword passed right through the being and hit the floor, and with wide eyes the president looked up.

"Hello Mr. Abelev, how are you?" Michel asked.

"Impossible…" The Russian president whispered under his breath. Michel stood tall, with his smile reaching from one ear to the other, and his hands fit casually into his pockets. Oddly however, Michel didn't seem to be fully himself, in that by he was slightly transparent; the MJOLNIR armor behind him was vaguely visible through him.

"Michel?" Natasha asked as she scooted in beside Sacha at the doorway. Her eyes widened and her small lips formed a bright smile. "It's you." She said softly. Michel nodded to her and the rest of the Abelevs.

"Yes, and how are you all?" He asked.

"We're um…fine." Dimitri answered for them as he hung the sword up again. He turned and leaned up against the wall, crossing his arms as he looked for the right words to say. "Um…Michel?"

"Yes Mr. President?" Michel hummed.

"You're supposed to dead." The president replied flatly. Michel blinked once, gave the president a slight wide eyed look, then chuckled to himself.

"Well my physical body is at least." He snickered some more. "Had I died I wouldn't be here Mr. President."

"I suppose you're right there." Dimitri said as he stood up and uncrossed his arms. "Then what brings you and your…transparent body here?" He asked. The silver-haired young man stepped to the side to reveal the Spartan armor to the view of the others.

"If it wouldn't bother you too much, Mr. President, I'd like to return to my armor." He said. Dimitri looked at Michel for a moment, wondering why the ghost of Michel would say such a thing.

"Um…sure, if you can…" The president was cut off by a joyous laugh by the young man.

"Oh thank you Mr. Abelev. I'll finally be able help the others in the war." He said. The president was about to go on when the silver-haired boy turned to the armor and walked right into it, through the thick armor and inside of it. The MJOLNIR's helmet's gaze shot up, as if the wearer were taking its first breath of air in a long time. Slowly the armor began to take its first steps and look at its hands.

"Hello…?" Helga asked as she slowly approached the armor. "Are…are you alright Michel?" The golden visor snapped toward Helga's eyes.

"Never better Mrs. Abelev." The Spartan's voice echoed from inside the helmet. With a giggle escaping her lips Natasha hurried over to Michel, and wrapped her arms around him.

"It's so good to have you back." She said. Dimitri and Helga smiled at the sight of their daughter being so happy, even Sacha had a faint smile on him.

_"Even from the grave he wants to serve humanity…that's some dedication." _The young soldier thought.

"It's wonderful to see you Ms. Abelev." Michel said kindly as the young Russian girl slowly let go and stood before him. A moment of silence passed as he looked down, as if he were apologetic. "Unfortunately I feel that I cannot stay long, I'm sure Ray is somewhere and I must find a ride in order to join the others before…"

"Nonsense." Dimitri cut in. "You can obviously rest here tonight, no one's going anywhere. General Rykov can go with you in the morning. Besides, I'm sure we'd all like to catch up with one another." He offered graciously. Although no one could see it, everyone present knew Michel was smiling much wider than usual.

"Very well, thank you very much Mr. Abelev." He said. Dimitri, smiling widely, crossed his arms again as he silently welcomed Michel back to the world, but something bugged him. How was it possible? Why was Michel back? How...could be back?

* * *

_Ship:__Berserk Fury_

"They're retreating! To Earth!" An Abater soldier cried as he entered the general's chamber. The room was well lit, which complimented the gorgeously colored room as well. The walls were black, with pillars lined neatly along them; each was colored either a maroon color or navy blue. There wasn't much there, just a stairway up to a platform where the general regularly watched the events via a 3d computer screen. General Drake, an Abater who had seen many battles in his day, looked like he could pounce in a second, despite his elderly appearance. His scaly skin was much rougher than an ordinary being of his kind, a sign of great endurance and a source of much respect in his people, the back of his head were spike-like projections, again a sign of his age. His eyes, however, glowed a passionate gold that made him seem as lively as the day he entered the military. At his desk accompanying him was none other than Spike, who was being awarded for bringing his highly-respected brother back into service. What Drake had learned from Spike was that when Grievous 'killed' Scar by breaking his neck, he merely paralyzed him from the neck down. This was the reason for his new bionic body, and nearly every Abater soldier was glad to have one of their best back.

"What? They're fleeing?" Drake asked with a serious look. He couldn't hold this gaze long before breaking out into cackles. "The Prophets are far too cowardly to fight anyway. Any captured ships?" He asked.

"None sir, we've burned every Brute vesicle that's come into our sights." The soldier replied.

"Excellent, return to your post." The general said.

"Yes sir." The soldier said with a bow before he took off through the sliding doors and down the hall. Drake took a seat before Spike and sighed happily.

"Can you imagine it? Thirteen years wasting ourselves on these humans when our real fight was against the Prophets?" He asked. "This will take less than a few months no doubt." The two Abaters chuckled.

"Of course General, but what about the humans? Surely they put up a good fight yes?" Spike asked. Drake fidgeted with one of his old teeth, until it came out with a wet pop. His alert eyes looked at it a moment before he tossed it away, knowing he'd grow in another tooth in no time.

"Bah, I think we can let them slide for now." He said and leaned back in his chair. "Sure they put up a good fight. How many are left you said…? Few thousand…?"

"Dozens of thousands." Spike corrected. "They're quite endangered for being the dominant species of their planet no doubt." Suddenly he paused. "Wait…are…are you suggesting that we pull out once we kill the Prophets and Brutes?"

"There's nothing else for us on that damned planet." Drake said, before grinning. "We messed up their planet enough," Then he snickered. "They'd better come up with a damn miracle machine if they want to save their planet from disasters and death. But yes, to answer your question, we will leave the humans to die on their planet after the Prophets and majority of Brutes are gone." Spike lowered his gaze, disgusted by how his leader was speaking.

"But why General? So many dead…so many years…" He asked. "Why not finish it?"

"Because Major Tusk's words opened a new perspective to me." Drake replied. "May the Great Spirits take care of him but before he was sentenced to death I heard him say something about humans having consciousness, aware of their surroundings and whatnot. They're not like the Drones or the Abaters we create." He crossed his arms. "If they can feel pain, fight through that pain to survive against us, so be it. They've won their survival for now."

"Scar would be furious." Spike muttered.

"Well Scar's not the leader of his people now is he?" The general snapped. "You know that with the death of Chancellor Grimm, I am the leader of the Abaters until they find another suitable chancellor." The two highly-respected Abaters glared each other down, until Spike broke eye contact and sighed.

"Of course General, my apologies." He said. "So…does this mean we're…allying ourselves to the humans?" Drake thought for a moment, pondering the idea.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend Commander." The general replied mysteriously as he stood up. "However..." He began. "That isn't to say that we will ally ourselves fully to them, we'll protect what numbers they have. I don't wish to fight side-by-side with them. That would be dishonorable on our part...but if we need them...so be it." Nodding his respects, Drake took his leave and exited the room, leaving a puzzled Spike with his leaving. Soon enough he crossed his legs and scratched his chin with a sharp claw, careful not to draw blood of course.

"The enemy of my enemy…" He whispered to himself. He had far too many enemies in this day and age, Brutes, Prophets, humans; he did not know who to ally himself with. The Brutes were hulking barbarians without a decent conscience, Prophets were power hungry masterminds behind everything the Brutes did, and humans, they were just pathetic Spike thought. He stood up, thinking about the humans, the most likely candidate to work with, yet their selfish ways, their cowardice, and their ability to boast about small things, all turned him away from them. Finally his eyes narrowed as he looked up. "I will fight this by myself, just as our ancestors their battles." And with those words, the commander walked off and out of the room, leaving the general's chamber empty.

* * *

Yeah...sorry about the long update, I haven't had much time to write anymore. School, work, sports and other stuff keep me busy from six in the morning to ten at night now. Don't worry, I'll try my best to keep this story afloat. 


	10. From the Ashes

**Note: Hey everybody, I don't know how many of you who have been here from the beginning of Abate will read this, or see this, but I'm not dead. Unfortunately, as you're probably aware, my days in fanfiction are. I've been at Fictionpress at bit under the name ConnorMack and have one short story there. I've abandoned Abate3 (for the moment!! ..a long one at that too I'm sorry) for an orginal story, ABATE. A lot of original characters from the fanfics will return and may be slightly or radically different (Example: Sven's a mute) and generally it's a lot more thought out than the fanfics were, and touch a lot of controversial subjects. Your reviews have helped me so much over the years, and have prompted me to start this well over a year ago. As a thank you, I've written a concept scene that will give you a feel of what it'll be like. It'll probably be on Fictionpress sometime soon. Again, thank you, and enjoy :)**

* * *

**ABATE Concept**

**By Connor Mack**

The hummer swerved side-to-side on the highway as its driver tried to avoid potholes, large cracks and dead bodies at a speed just above fifty. The vehicle's passengers, all of whom with the exception of Sven had their seatbelts on, slid back and forth, just opposite of the hummer's direction. Seated left to right behind the driver, sat Dr. Winchester, Abigail, and Sven, then periodically Abigail would slide forcefully into Sven, every time muttering a soft and polite apology. She ignored the explosions outside and the roars, howls and cries of Nephilim, Abater and human soldiers in favor of pondering what Sven thought of her. It was impossible to tell, since he wore his armor and helmet everywhere he went, and even his body language was hard to translate. At the same time, Sven watched the raging battle outside, and as the explosions and gunfire seemed to grow in intensity, his heart began to climb toward his throat. It wasn't for fear of his life, but for those in the vehicle with him. As always, Sven worried for the doctor, and feared that if he lost him, he would again be lost without a father figure. With a loud thump Dr. Winchester struck his head against the window, followed by a painful grunt as he reached up to rub his nearly bald head. Sven's helmet immediately shot in the direction of the elderly man followed by a black-gloved hand that rested upon his shoulder. Dr. Winchester chuckled.

"I'm fine Sven." He said as he rubbed his scalp once more before setting it to his side. He smiled at Sven, then to Abigail. "What I'm worried about is getting you kids out of here." _Kid_, Sven thought, he hadn't been called that for years, even if he was younger than the majority of the soldiers he worked with. As the mute soldier's hand returned to him, Winchester chuckled yet again. "You know Abigail; your mother's going to kill me after this."

* * *

"Call for reinforcements!" A battered soldier cried out as he reloaded a clip into his battle rifle. He was quickly engulfed in a cloud of debris as a cannon round exploded close behind him. "I repeat, call for-" The beaten down and desperate soldier quickly ended his sentence with a loud grunt as a heavy mace swung through the air and collided with his chest. To the ears of the massive Nephilim, above all of the loud bangs and blasts, the most satisfying was the sound of the human's ribs and bones loudly cracking before his weapon sent the soldier reeling across the ground like a rag doll. Standing almost four feet over his foes, Israfil smiled widely as he saw just how fearful they all were of him. He laughed at their cries, he cackled when they screamed for mercy, and he simply smiled when he saw the expressions of their face. This, he thought, was what madness was meant for. The hairy giant swung his mighty mace around and around, sending bodies flying, smashing through brick and metal, and just raising hell. Again and again, successful or not, Israfil felt a tingle of satisfaction every time he blindly smashed through an object with a thundering boom, or a howl of pain as another soldier fell prey to his weapon.

"Enough of this!" The Nephilim boomed as his mace crashed to the ground one more time. "Where is this McGregor?" The ape-like beast's eyes scanned the torn battlefield for any black suits or armor or Sven's jet black helmet. He tightened his jaw as rage began to flow through his veins yet again. Every human body he could see wore camouflage armor, not black, and no helmet that hid their faces. Behind him his comrades were rallying together. They had this particular block in their control. However, they were still surrounded by human and Abater forces.

"Israfil Sir," A young Nephilim soldier spoke as he approached his furious leader. Unlike his leader, who only wore a pair of armored briefs, this soldier wore a heavy chest plate, shoulder plates, and heavy leg armor. "I'd suggest we wait for the humans and Abaters to wipe each other…"

"No!" The general barked. He stood up straight and tied the leather strap attached to the end of his mace onto his belt. The younger soldier could now see the spark of insanity in Israfil's eye, and how apparent it was when it came to his hygiene. The general's crooked teeth were beginning to rot and pieces of debris or maybe something else had dried in his fiery red fur hair. The ape-like creature scratched his bare chest and looked off in the distance. For a few moments, his men could see a flicker of a sane mind as Israfil thought in silence. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the infamous image of their insane leader returned, as his eyes flashed, but a scheming grin remained. "Scar is here…and as far as I know, the McGregor human is in his sights." The Nephilim grunt's eyes widened.

"Scar? Here? General are you sure?" He asked in a slightly shaky tone.

"Of course." Israfil growled. "I'll never forget his scent…" His soldiers, almost ten in number, watched as their leader became lost in a distant past. Israfil became unaware of the world around him; as yet again he was thrown back to the days that wrought his madness. His eyes narrowed angrily as he envisioned himself laying down on a blood-soaked battlefield, when something heavy fell over his legs. The Nephilim looked down, only to see a fallen comrade atop of his legs. He looked off and saw an Abater toss another of his brethren over his chest. They were all dead, torn, and broken. Israfil, whose heart pounded at the sight of the most unholy situation, fought back the urge to cry out. He looked at the Abaters, all of them similar in shape, except for one. Just before tossing another broken corpse over him, Israfil connected eyes with an Abater, the left side of his face burned and and scarred from a legendary battle with a Nephilim general. Before the entire story unfolded before him, however, the general's eyes flashed angrily. "Kill McGregor if you see him…leave Scar for me." The Nephilim turned his back to his men and began to storm off.

"But sir, shouldn't we pray first?" The soldier asked. Israfil snarled at the mere thought.

"You can if you think it'll help you." He said coldly as he continued to march off. He brought up his mace and held it firmly in both of his hands as his eyes narrowed. "I don't need any of His help…" Meanwhile his party stood for a moment to pray for success and redemption, but most of all, forgiveness for Israfil's ignorance.

* * *

An elongated snout suddenly opened wide in order to reveal countless dagger-like teeth, as the Abater roared angrily at the oncoming gunfire. The humanoid tyrannosaur looked from side to side, eyeing his comrades as they stood behind bent cars and broken walls for cover. High-pitched whines and zaps filled the air as the Abaters fired their weapons, melting in along with the sound of machinegun fire from the human forces. Just across the torn street, in the same positions they held, were one of the last platoons of human soldiers in the area. The 

Abater, unarmed and yet unscathed out in the open, narrowed his one golden eye, the other white, at the enemy.

"Commander, are you crazy?" An Abater soldier hollered from behind a rusty Oldsmobile. The scarred Abater chuckled as his piercing stare locked onto his soldier. A grin widened on his snout as finally a few bullets came into contact with his shimmering black armor. However, the bullets ricocheted off the commander's chest and dug into the ground or continued to fly off.

"You must not know me." Scar cackled. A mortar shell flew from the human side of the block and crashed down before the commander, who did nothing but bring his arm up to shield his eyes from the debris that flew at him. Small rocks struck his armor, and finally Scar took a moment to look around. He had been engulfed in a cloud of dust. He bellowed out in fury once again as his massive legs braced, his large skull lunged forward, and his thick arms shot backward. His three-fingered hands tightened until his claws began to cut him, and then his double-jointed legs propelled him forward at a blinding speed. Loud thuds echoed in the suddenly calm air as both humans and Abaters regrouped for a moment to collect ammo, and his massive feet came down with tremendous force. However, despite Scar's powerful steps, he continued to dart along the clearing at a speed that would make an Olympic runner jealous. A torn and rusted down car had its hood crunched and broken as a heavily armored boot slammed into it, and the Abater leaped into the air.

He landed with a thundering boom, and the two soldiers hiding behind the car chattered their teeth as he did so. Scar's good eye flashed upon the two; but before any of them could correctly aim their rifles, a clawed hand had grabbed the back of the head of one and shoved the man to his face. Next the nine foot giant hoisted the last soldier up by his throat, bringing them eye-to-eye.

"Tell them to hold their fire!" He ordered. Like he had a choice, the soldier thought as he looked at the Abater's fearsome maw, his feet shortly began to kick around aimlessly. His comrade had sheepishly gotten back to his knees, but refused to move out of fear of being kicked by Scar's thorny boots. The soldier coughed for easy air as his hands held onto his 

attacker's arm, holding himself up. Scar quickly heard the sounds of magazines being shoved into rifles and humans clicking off the safety switch on them. The Abater growled angrily at the human. "If they shoot…" Slowly the scowl turned into a twisted grin. "You'll be going first." The human, struggling to swallow the lump in his throat, nodded slowly. Scar nodded back, and held the soldier up even higher, so that everyone could see him.

"Hold…your…" The soldier coughed. "Hold…your fire!" As he began to gag and begged for air, Scar tossed him back to the ground. The man fell to his knees, painfully, but he was thankful that he could breathe again. The Abater glared at the humans as they surrounded him, and wondered how his men were reacting. If they had followed his orders correctly, he thought, they should be just watching and waiting.

"Well…?" Scar growled with a sarcastic grin. The soldiers glanced at each other suspiciously, until one by one, they lowered their rifles. "There we go." He cooed. Suddenly his armored boot came up for a split of a second before crashing down on the human below him, pinning him. Quickly rifles and weapons were raised to the alien threat, and yet all Scar could do was laugh. His sharp teeth crept out of his grin, as if begging for something to chomp on. Slowly his eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't do that, really." He smirked. "My men are ready to pounce if something were to happen to me." In a taunting manner, he cocked his reptilian head.

"And just the hell do you want then?" A rough-looking soldier growled. Scar's eyes shifted over to this man, whose scruffy face and black eye seemed to emphasis the fiery tone he spat just a moment earlier. The Abater removed his foot from over the downed man and approached this newcomer. Hunched down so he could better get eye contact from him, Scar returned the man's grimace with a snarl of his own.

"What I want?" He asked. "What I want to know is why you're firing at my men, when there are Nephilim to be taken care of." The rough human snickered to himself for a second, before he spat at the Abater. The blob of saliva and mucus splattered on Scar's chest plate, for which he didn't budge.

"Why not take out the two freaks while we're on a roll huh?" The soldier replied. The other soldiers, who up until this point stood sheepishly and fidgeted, chuckled together as their confidence grew as one. Scar's good eye intensified for only a moment, before a calming air surrounded him. He smiled in a friendly manner.

"Of course, my apologies." He said in a most hospitable manner as he chuckled. "I should've known. Two different species on your home, I would be angry as well…" The Abater's eyes narrowed as he looked off to the distance. A small apartment building, surrounded by houses that looked more like shacks, was in his sights. "You know, from that building over there, you could have dominance over the whole battlefield." A clawed finger pointed to the run down building, and the Abater stood up a bit straighter.

"So…that's it? You're just gonna give us that?" The grizzly-looking man asked. Scar's grin widened.

"Of course. Consider it uh…token of what I hope can be a friendship." The Abater replied. "But as soon as I return to my post." He jokingly poked at the man with his clawed finger. "It's a free-for-all once again." The soldiers looked at one another, nodding as they began to accept this alien. The scruffy soldier nodded slowly, as a faint grin appeared on his whiskery face.

"You know, I guess you guys are alright." He said. He pulled out a handkerchief from one of the pouches located on his armor and wiped his spit off of Scar's armor. "Sorry 'bout that mate."

"Apology accepted. Go on now, quickly, I'm sure the Nephilim will be regrouping shortly." The Abater said. "I can only hope our next encounter ends this way." He said with a chuckle. The soldier nodded.

"Yes." He pointed to his comrade, who still laid on the ground from exhaustion. "Kellison, Stettler, assist him."

"Yes sir!" The two soldiers said together as they snatched their friend and pulled him to his feet. The soldier was still coughing as he began to regain his footing.

"T'was a pleasure ya big guy." The leader nodded as he and his men moved out. The humans stayed close together, with the outer members posing ready with their rifles. They move swiftly from one piece of cover to the next, even though the main battle was taking places just a few blocks away.

Scar waited until he could see every last human soldier of the platoon disappear inside the building, then he returned to his own team. The Abaters stood with their high-tech weaponry and awaited their next orders.

"Shall we move on sir?" One of the tyrannosaur-like beings asked. Scar smirked as he nodded. The Abaters quickly picked up their supplies and the majority of them hurried as they looked for another place to set up and maintain a place to fight this battle for when the Nephilim regrouped. One of the Abaters stayed behind with Scar. His name was Tusk, named so because of the chipped fang he had. The young soldier slung his rifle over his shoulder as he glanced over to the apartment building over to the distance.

"Commander, I thought you told us…I thought we weren't to go into that building." He said.

"You're not." Scar replied. One of his hands began to reach for his belt, feeling for a recognizable device. He felt rifle rounds, energy tablets, and other supplies, but it took him a bit until his clawed fingers ran across a shiny grey gadget. It was sleek and smooth, small and portable. The Abater brought the device up, and studied it for a moment.

"Then why did you tell the humans to enter it?" Tusk asked. Scar glanced to his soldier for only a moment, before his attention returned to the gadget in his hands. His thumb slowly ran over the glossy metal as he thought of what to say. Finally he pressed the button.

**_CLICK_**

"Because I had the place planted with explosives…"


End file.
